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OUR WORLD READER 


No. 1. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


BEING 


A REVISED EDITION OF OUR “WORLD, No. I.” 


by 

MARY L. HALL. 


BOSTON: 



GINN & COMPANY. 
1889. 







I 





Copyright, i8Sq, 

By Ginn & Company. 

Gc 




Typography by C. H. Heinizemann, Boston, Mass, 



FROM THE ORIGINAL PREFACE. 


An experience of several years in teaching has convinced me 
either that children begin to study geography too young, or that 
the books they use are not suitable for them. Though excellent 
text-books for advanced pupils have appeared within the last 
few years, I have never found a very good one for children; 
those intended for them differing from the others only in quantity, 
and not in quality. 

Having a class of children from six to ten years of age who 
were to commence the study of geography, I gave them a course 
of oral lessons, loose and general it may be, but so satisfactory 
in results, that I have been induced to collect them, hoping that 
other young people may be as much interested in them as mine 
were. They are essentially primary or introductory lessons; 
and subjects which may seem to have been omitted are, perhaps, 
only postponed to a future time, when they will be more easily 
comprehended. 

Actual experience has proved to me that a child of seven or 
eight years may acquire in several months a general knowledge 
of the form of the earth, of its bodies of land and water, of the 
effects of climate, situation, &c., upon the different nations, 
which can no more be forgotten than the alphabet. 

I have endeavored to teach localities chiefly by associating 
with them whatever physical or historical interest they may 
have; believing the aim of such a text-book should be, not 
merely to give facts, but to inspire sympathy with far-off nations, 
and to create a desire to learn more. 


M. L. H. 


PUBLISHERS’ NOTE. 


In the present revision, all of the distinguishing features and 
special merits of the original work have been retained. The text has 
been brought down to date in all respects, and at some points it 
has been found desirable to make additions. The work is pre¬ 
sented as a geographical reading-book. The maps and the map- 
studies are designed to throw light upon the text and help to fix the 
information that it gives. As the “ Our World Geography” has pre¬ 
served its vitality for twenty-five years, and even up to the present 
time has been making its way into new fields, the publishers feel that 
they can present this book with the highest confidence. 


OUR WORLD. 


PART FIRST. 


LESSON I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

D EAR CHILDREN, — Before you begin to learn the 
things I wish to tell you, look far away down the 
street or over the country, and you will see that the sky 
seems to come quite down to the earth. It would not be 
strange if some of you thought they really touched very 
far off. Indeed, a great many years ago, older and wiser 
people believed that, if they should go far enough, they 
would surely come to the end of the earth ; but, as nobody 
had ever seen any one who had been there, they could not 
tell exactly what the end of the world was like, though 
each one had his own notions about it, and very queer 
notions they were. 

As time went by, and more and more people were born 
on the earth, they began to need more room and more 
money: so many of them travelled away farther and 
farther, sometimes on land, sometimes on water. Still 
none of them came to the end of the earth ; and, wherever 
they went, the sky seemed as high over head as ever. 



2 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Wise men began to think there was no end ; and, sure 
enough, it happened at last that some persons, after travel¬ 
ling on for a long time in the same way, found themselves 
just at the place from which they started, as an ant would 
after crawling round an apple. This, together with some 
other signs, showed very plainly that the earth was like a 
round ball, without any end. 

Since then, many people have travelled about over this 
round world of ours, finding out many things, and telling 
one another what they have seen. Fairy tales are not 
more wonderful than the stories that have been written 
about blazing hills, rivers of moving ice, springs of boiling 
water, cities buried under the ground, and hundreds of 
things as strange. 

The outside of this round world is called its surface; 
and it will be hard for some of you, who perhaps have 
never seen more water than a river, to believe that there 
is more water than land on the surface of the earth, — 
nearly three times as much. There are great seas of 
water, thousands of miles wide; and far across the waters 
are many lands very different from ours. 

There are countries where the sunshine is very hot all 
the year; where the trees are always green, and flowers 
always blooming; where the children have no snow-balling 
nor skating, but see every day ripe, yellow oranges, and 
gay-colored parrots in the trees. And hotter still are some 
lands, where there is no grass, but only miles and miles of 
dry, burning sand. 

Far off from these are other lands, where it is always so 
bitter cold that the snow and ice never melt, where there 
are no large trees nor cornfields nor gardens, and where 
the people use rough bearskins for clothes. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


3 


By travelling over the earth, the people who live in dif¬ 
ferent parts have become a little acquainted with one 
another. There are on the earth many different kinds of 
people, with different ways of living: some white, some 
black, some brown, some tawny, some yellowish-red. Some 
live in houses of wood and stone, others make hovels of 
mud ; some have only cloth tents or houses, and others 
build with skin and bark. 

Lesson I. — Did people ever think they could get to the end of 
the earth? What was found out about its shape? How? What 
is the outside of the earth called ? Are all parts of the earth alike ? 
What have travellers learned about it ? 


LESSON II. 

THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE LAND. 

The land, instead of being all in one mass, is in parts, 
of different sizes and shapes; and there are names for the 
different forms. 

If a piece of land has water all around it, we call it an 
island. 

But if such a piece of land is so large that it may contain 
several different countries, then it is called a continent. 

The islands or continents are never regularly square nor 
round, but are of all sorts of shapes. The edges, instead 
of being even and straight, are all notched and jagged 
where they touch the water; and these edges of land are 
called shores or sea-coasts. 

When the points of land reach out quite far into the 
water, they are called capes. 


4 


OUR WORLD READER. 


When a piece of land is almost surrounded by water, it 
is called a peninsula. 

A broad stretch of level ground is called a plain. A 
grassy plain without trees is called a prairie , //#«<?, pampa , 
or steppe. 

Deserts are large plains destitute of grass, or with only 
a scanty growth. They are often covered for miles and 
miles with dry sand, rocks, or gravel, except here and there 
a little cluster of trees around a spring or well. 

When the land in any place rises to quite a height, it is 
called a hill. 

Very high hills are called mountains. They are not 
often seen standing alone, but are in long rows or ridges, 
called mountain chains. 

Valleys are the low places between hills or mountains, 
and are often very long and wide. 

Lesson II. — What is an island ? A continent ? What are shores 
or sea-coasts ? Capes ? What is a peninsula ? A plain ? A 
prairie? What are deserts? Hills? Mountains? Valleys? 


LESSON III. 

THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE WATER. 

You know that water takes the shape of whatever holds 
it, whether it is a tub, a pan, or a long trough. Now those 
great lands which I told you are called continents have 
between them great basins of water, which are called 
oceans. 

And under the water there is still land, sometimes very 
near the surface of the water, so that we can see it, looking 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


5 


down as we sail in little boats, and sometimes deep down, 
so that a very long line can hardly reach it. 

You must remember that the edges or shores are not 
always smooth, but notched in and out. When there is 
quite a large notch in the land, with the water from the 
ocean running up, it is a bay , gulf \ or sea. 

Around every ocean there are many such seas, bays, or 
gulfs; and sometimes they are almost or quite shut in by 
land. The water of the oceans is salt. 

When two points of land are so near together as only to 
leave a narrow passage of water between, this passage is 
called a strait. 

You all know what a pond is; and very large ponds are 
called lakes , which are smaller basins of water away from 
the ocean. 

Most of you also know that water bubbling up out of the 
ground, and making a little pool, is called a spring. Clear, 
cool water runs from this little pool and forms a stream. 

If the land is flat, the little stream comes slowly through 
mud and leaves ; but, if the spring is on a high hill the 
stream rushes along fast enough, leaping, sparkling, and 
foaming over the rocks. 

After a while the stream meets other streams from other 
springs, and, joining together, they make a larger one, that 
still goes on, winding, turning, and taking in other streams, % 
until it grows so wide and deep that it is called a river. 

Small streams are called branches , or rivulets. 

Lesson III. — What are oceans ? Bays or gulfs ? Seas ? What 
is a strait? A lake ? Aspring? How are rivers made ? 


6 


OUR WORLD READER . 


LESSON IV. 

ISLANDS. 

Everywhere in the midst of the water are scattered 
islands of all sizes, some large enough for many towns to 
be built on them, others so small that they are nothing 
more than big rocks in the water. Some islands are flat; 
some are high, with hills and mountains. The strangest 
of all are the coral islands. 

You have seen the bright red and the white coral, used 
for making beads and other pretty things. But perhaps 
you do not know that it is made by thousands of little 
animals, called polyps , that live far 
down in the water. The coral is 
sometimes found in beautiful branch¬ 
es, a foot or more long. Men dive 
under the water to get it, and often 
pieces are broken off and washed up 
on the shore by the waves. 

The beautiful, fine coral is rare, and 
only found in small quantities ; but 
there are other animals that make a 
coarser, rougher coral; and it is of 
this rougher kind of coral that islands are made. 

These animals are at first little jelly-like sacs, floating 
about in the water; but, after a while, they fasten them¬ 
selves to the rocks under water, and never leave them 
again. Then the sacs open at the top, and little star- 



CORAL. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


7 


shaped mouths are formed. New animals come from the 
old ones, like buds upon a plant. One animal can also 
divide itself into two, while new jelly-like sacs float away 
to fasten themselves elsewhere : and thus, in these differ¬ 
ent ways, they increase rapidly. Millions and millions of 
these small creatures are living and growing day and night 
under the water, taking lime from it, and forming solid 
walls and partitions in their bodies. 

These walls and partitions are left behind, while the lit¬ 
tle animals move slowly on, making all the time more of 
these hard walls which form the coral. 

Thus the tiny creatures make the coral as they grow, 
budding and spreading in all directions, till, in time, they 
form, with their rocky walls, strange and beautiful shapes; 
sometimes large branches, sometimes large clusters of cells 
like a honey-comb; sometimes they spread out like fans, 
and sometimes form long, round stems. 

t The animals continue to add more and more coral in the 
deep, quiet water, until at last, coming up to the surface, 
they can grow no higher. Then the waves, all the time 
rushing and beating against the branches, break and mix 
them together. Floating logs, bits of wood, and sea-weeds, 
lodge on the points of rock, and in time decay. These are 
mixed with the sand made from the coral which has been 
ground up by the waves, and thus a little soil is made. 
Seeds are blown there from the land, spring up into 
plants, which die and make more soil, until, after a long, 
long time, the land spreads wider and deeper, trees grow 
up, and even men come and build their cities on the 
islands that were first made by little creatures not half 
so large as one’s finger. But how many years this must 
have taken ! and how many generations of polyps! 


8 


OUR WORLD READER. 


It is the fashion of these animals to build in a circle, for 
reasons you will understand by and by, so that, when the 
island comes to the surface of the water, it is a broad ring, 
with a pond or lake in the middle. These rings are not 
always round, but often longer one way than the other, 
and have usually an opening somewhere, so that ships 
often sail into the lakes from the open sea. 



A CORAL ISLAND. 


Many of these coral islands, called atolls , are very 
beautiful; and, if you would know how they look, think of 
a wide belt of land not much above the water, covered 
with trees and plants of the brightest green ; for it is 
always warm where the little coral animals live. Here 
and there are groves of cocoanut-trees waving their long 
feathery leaves high in the air, and bending their tall 
stems in the wind. These groves are bordered on both 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


9 


sides, outward to the sea and inward to the lake, by a nar¬ 
row band of shining white sand lying next to the blue 
water. All around outside come the great, strong waves, 
swelling slowly over the ocean, until they dash against 
the ring of rock with a roar, and burst into sparkling foam. 

But, while it is rough outside, the water inside the 
ring is still and smooth as glass : for this reason, these 
inside lakes, which are called lagoons , are good harbors 
for vessels. 

Lesson IV. — Where are islands found? Are they all alike? 
How is coral made? What happens when the coral animals bring 
their work to the surface of water? What is said of the coral is¬ 
lands? What are lagoons? 


LESSON V. 


MOUNTAINS. 


Mountains, as you have 
learned, are in rows or 
chains. Sometimes the 
chain is narrow; some¬ 
times it stretches out over 
quite a wide country, with 
high valleys between the 
different tops, or peaks. 
The highest mountains are 
about five miles high ; but 
not many are so high as 
this. 


You might think that 
mountains, with their steep, 



MOUNTAINS. 




IO 


OUR WORLD READER. 


rough sides, often bare and rocky, would be of no use 
to us. 

But, though they are not good for fields or gardens, 
goats and cows and wild deer think their sides fine pasture- 
grounds ; for there are often patches of excellent grass. 

Besides this, mountains often contain many treasures 
which we are glad to find and dig out. Under the rocks 
and earth are great beds of coal, quantities of iron, copper, 
lead, and even gold, silver, and diamonds. Digging out 
such things is called mining; and there are coal-mines, 
lead-mines, gold-mines, etc. 

When all the coal near the surface in one place has 
been dug from the earth, a deep hole is made, something 
like a well, which is called a shaft. Men go up and down 
through this shaft by ladders and ropes, and dig out more 
coal far down under the ground, drawing it up to the sur¬ 
face. 

But, by digging away a great deal of coal and earth with 
it, after a while a large cave is made, and the miners must 
go farther and farther to find more coal. It is dark and 
dreary there : the air is damp and close, and men are often 
crushed to death by the earth falling upon them ; though 
they try to make it as safe as they can by leaving some 
parts untouched, which reach from top to bottom like 
pillars. They also put up wooden props. 

These mines are often very large, — far larger than you 
can imagine; and hundreds of men work day and night in 
the dark holes with torches and lanterns. Not only men, 
but women and children, work in mines; and sometimes 
miners eat and sleep under ground, and do not see day¬ 
light for many days. 

Besides the treasures buried in mountains, their sides 
are often covered with forests of tall pine-trees. From 


FIRST LESSOA T S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


11 

the trunks of these a sap, or juice, runs out, which makes 
turpentine, rosin, and other useful things. Great quanti¬ 
ties of charcoal and tar are also made from the pine wood, 
and the tallest, straightest trunks are used for making 
masts of ships. 

Low down on the mountains grow leafy trees of many 
kinds, and handsome, blossoming shrubs; but as we go 
higher up, we shall find only pointed evergreen trees, 
such as spruces and firs. The flowers will be smaller, but 
pretty and delicate. If we climb higher still, we shall find 
only stunted bushes and mosses, and we shall begin to 
feel very cold. If we still have courage to go on, we shall 
find the mountain toward the top covered with snow, even 
in summer and in a hot country; for, so high above the 
surface of the earth, it is always cold. 

The snow among the high tops melts very little. Great 
fields of snow are found between the peaks, and the nar¬ 
row valleys are filled with it. Though the heat of summer 
in these high valleys is hot enough to melt the snow, 
sometimes it thaws a little and freezes again, and at last 
becomes ice mixed with snow and water. This begins to 
slip slowly, slowly down the narrow mountain valleys form¬ 
ing real moving ice-rivers, which are called glaciei's. 

These great white rivers creep for miles among the 
snowy tops, and sometimes reach as far down as the grass- 
fields around the villages, into the very midst of the hardy 
little wild-flowers. The people who live in such villages 
are accustomed to the snows above* them, and to the 
steep mountain paths; but strangers often find the way 
dangerous. 

Still stranger than the snow-covered mountains are the 
fire-mountains—always hot and smoking, and often blaz- 


12 


OUR WORLD READER. 


ing up, throwing out red-hot stones and a melted substance 
called lava. These burning mountains are found mostly 
in warm countries. They are called volcanoes , and the 
large hole at the top, from which the flames and smoke 
come out is a crater. Sometimes, after a volcano has been 
quiet for a long time, a great smoke will burst out, with 



A VOLCANO. 


strong odors of sulphur and gas. Then follow lumps of 
rock, and lava which runs down the sides in large streams 
that sometimes flow over farms and even towns. After 
a time the flames and roaring noise cease, and the lava 
becomes cold and hard like stone, and the people around 
who had run away go back to see if their homes are safe. 











FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


13 


I dare say some of you have seen bits of lava made into 
bracelets and ear-rings ; for it is a curiosity here. It is of 
several colors—brown, slate, tea-colored, and white. 

Lesson V. — Are all mountain-chains alike? Of what use are 
mountains? What is mining? How are mines made? Of what 
use are pine forests ? What is found on the tops of high mountains? 
What are glaciers ? What are volcanoes ? What is lava ? 


LESSON VI. 

PRAIRIES. 

Prairies are great level lands, sometimes reaching for 
many miles over the country, having only here and there 
a clump of trees. The prairie-grass is long and thick, and 
makes good food for large herds of cattle, horses, and 
bisons. In some countries, men are out all the time catch¬ 
ing wild horses or cattle from herds that go galloping over 
the prairie. These cattle-hunters have swift horses of 
their own, and hold ready in their hands a long rope with 
a slip-knot at one end. When they overtake a troop of 
horses, they choose one, and quickly throw the knot over 
his head, keeping the other end in their hands. The knot 
slips close, and holds the horse fast. In some places, the 
horses are caught by the leg instead of the neck; and, 
from long practice, these hunters become very skilful in 
throwing the rope, which is called a lasso. 

A prairie on fire is a grand and beautiful sight; that is, 
if one can see it without being in danger. Such a fire 
sometimes occurs toward the end of summer, when the 
long grass is dry and burns easily. It may catch from the 


14 


OUR WORLD READER. 


camp-fires of hunters; and, once lighted, the flames rush 
over miles and miles of prairie-land. Often in warm 
seasons the prairies are covered with beautiful flowers of 
all colors, looking gay and bright amidst the green grass. 
In some places, during the rainy season, it is hard 
travelling across the flat prairie, — for it is very muddy; 
and wagons are made for the purpose, with broad w'heels 
that do not sink down easily. 

Some prairies, instead of being perfectly flat, are wave¬ 
like, with very low, rounding hills or swells ; and these 
are called rolling prairies. 

Lesson VI.—What are prairies? What is a lasso? What is 
said of a fire on a prairie ? What of the flowers ? Is it always good 
travelling on prairies ? What are rolling prairies ? 


LESSON VII. 

DESERTS. 

If any of you live in the country, or have taken jour¬ 
neys, you must sometimes have seen places where the 
land looked very poor, with large patches of bare, reddish 
earth, and only scattered bushes or straggling weeds ; but 
the very barest hillside or most worn-out field you ever 
saw is a garden compared to a real desert. 

Far away on the other side of the round earth are sev¬ 
eral deserts, so large that it is a journey of many days to 
cross one of them. We may stand in the midst of a desert, 
and, even with the best eyes, look as far as we can, and 
see not a blade of grass, nor the least little weed; nothing 
but sand, sand, hot shining sand, that hurts the eyes, and 


FIRST LESSOMS IV GEOGRAPHY.\ r - 

minis me fleet- And, all around, this sand is flat and 
sm.mh. unless me vf nd na s neaped it in little mounds, or 
swens. If we were travelling across one of these deserts, 
ve shame. pernaps. go cn for several days, seeing- every 
my the same nr esc me sand, with no grass, no trees, no 
streams it water. And we might come at last to a large 

w o 




me smad nrm 
lumas. tut w 


■ : . isrer :i :ni :r is rearing tarts — 
we get dried and meant in brown, stickv 
cir is there fresh and smooth dike a plum. 


d :t :e:rir man a - :-1 anas, in f re:r-r :aaa tin shite 
trees. s me spring :r -veil :r fresh water that we should 

re great ne ed. 5 to it t 
amen spec in a desert is 'tailed an oasis. Bat how do you 
think pe p e me horses could go without water for two or 
three days at a time ; It is very true, horses could not; 
and. tor this reason, camels are preferred to horses for 
rra id eg mm si lat'i vm :ia vm is ir i: r.g Id: 
if tch save never seen a camel a: a menagerie. I must tell 
you that : is i rail, i :r--necked, long-legged ; ream re. with 













16 


OUR WORLD READER. 


a great hump on its back. Upon these useful animals a 
man may ride, and pack a large load of merchandise,— 
that is, goods which he buys or sells; for in this way 
every thing is carried across the desert, instead of in 
wagons or cars : so that people say of a man there, “ He is 
worth so many camel-loads/’ 

But all this has nothing to do with the water. What 
makes the camel so well fitted for travelling over the 
vast plains of dry, hot sand ? It is because he can travel 
a number of days without drinking. He is able to do 
this by means of a sort of bag or pouch at the bottom 
of his long throat. He fills this bag, after drinking what 
he needs; and it holds enough water to last him several 
days. As there are many of those small, green watering- 
places scattered over the desert, travellers do not suffer 
much if they manage their journey rightly; for they can 
carry enough water in bottles for their own use. 

Want of water is not the only danger in crossing the 
deserts. At some seasons of the year, very strong winds 
blow, and often come up suddenly. Now, as the sand lies 
loose for some depth, clouds of it are lifted up in the air 
by these winds, and, coming with great violence, some¬ 
times bury or suffocate people: eyes, mouth, nose, and 
even ears, being filled with sand. If the travellers see 
the sand-cloud coming, they jump from their camels, and 
throw themselves flat on the ground, with their feet toward 
the wind, and cover their heads. Even camels have sense 
enough to kneel, and turn away their faces. 

On account of these and other dangers, people do not 
travel alone over the deserts, but in large companies, 
chiefly of merchants, buying at one place, and selling at 
another, A company of merchants with their loaded 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


17 

camels, men to drive them, and any other persons who 
choose to join them, is called a caravan. 

Lesson VII. — What are deserts ? Are they ever large ? What 
is an oasis? What animal is used for travelling across deserts? 

Why are camels used in travelling across deserts ? What are 
sand storms? How do people journey across deserts? 


LESSON VIII. 

SHORES OR SEA-COASTS. 

You remember that the edges of the land, where it 
touches the water, are jagged and uneven, running out 
and in, and making points, or capes, of every size. There 
is a great difference in these coasts. Sometimes the land 
rises all at once high out of the water, like a great, rough 
wall, with the rocks cut and worn in deep cracks. Such 
steep coast-rocks are called cliffs. 

As the sea is generally deep where the shore is high, the 
strong waves dash against the huge rocks, curling and foam¬ 
ing with a loud roar, mingled with a sound of dashing and 
splashing. And if many large rocks lie scattered in the 
sea, along the coast for half a mile out, then what rushing 
and whirling! When there is a storm, the water roars 
louder than ever, and leaps against the cliffs, dashing about 
as if it were mad. 

Ships cannot always sail near such a rocky coast as this 
with safety. For this reason on a point of rock there is 


x g OUR WORLD READER. 

often built a tall, narrow tower, called a lighthouse, because 

in the top of it is 
placed a large lan¬ 
tern, which gives a 
light that can be seen 
far out on the water, 
and shows the sailors 
where the dangerous 
places are. 

The land sometimes 
slopes gently down to 
the water, making a 
belt of pebbles and shells, or of smooth, white sand. Such a 
low, sloping coast is a beach. The great, blue sea rolls 
up slowly and gently 
with a low, pleasant 
sound, far over the 
beach, and then rolls 
back, leaving on the 
sand shells, bits of 
coral, sponge, and sea¬ 
weeds. It leaves also 
numbers of tiny living 
creatures, amusing to 
look at,—little star¬ 
shaped things with long 
feelers, which they fling 
about, searching for the water that has left them. Quite 
unlike these are bits of jelly-like substance, which you 
would never think were animals, unless you could 
see them swimming; when they change, like fairies, into 
beautiful, gay-colored creatures. Then there are hundreds 






FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


19 


of funny little brown crabs that always run side-ways, and 
very fast too. 

There is a fresh, pleas¬ 
ant breeze blowing in from 
the water, generally in the 
afternoon; and this is 
called a sea-breeze. 

If there is a bay in a 
high coast, it makes what 
is called a harbor , or safe 
place for ships to stop in. 

When the harbor is very 
good, a large city often 
grows up there. 

If you lived in such a city, you would no longer have a 
pleasant beach to walk on. Warehouses would stand in 
rows, full of hogsheads of sugar, sacks of coffee, barrels of 
fish, and other things. The shore would be covered with 
boxes and barrels, carts and drays. Where the crabs and 
jelly-fishes used to come up, there would probably be a 
sort of long platform, called a wharf\ built far out into 
the water, so that vessels could be easily loaded and 
unloaded. 

Low coasts are often bordered by banks of sand, which 
it is dangerous for ships to approach, so that the best 
harbors are where the coast is high and the water deep 

Lesson VIII. — What are cliffs? What js said of the sea near 
rocky coasts ? What is a lighthouse ? A beach ? What are found 
on beaches ? What is a harbor ? What is seen if a city is built on 
a good harbor? What is a wharf? Where are there no good har¬ 
bors ? 



20 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON IX. 

OCEANS. 

I. — The Water of the Ocean. 

Those who have only seen rivers or lakes cannot have 
much idea of the great ocean, where, for days and days, 
one may sail without seeing a sign of land. 

If you stand on the shore, and look over the water, far 
away the blue waves roll, until they seem to reach the 
sky. The ocean is not often still; for even on a pleasant, 
mild day, when there is no wind, the great, blue surface 
of the water rolls slowly in long, broad waves ; and, if 
there is a wind, each wave, when it has risen as high as it 
can, curls into a white foam at the top, and then sinks 
down, and makes way for another. And so they go on, 
swelling, rising, foaming, sinking, one after another, day 
after day, year after year. But sometimes, when the wind 
blows hard, they dash so high, that many a ship is broken 
and lost. 

Besides the moving of the waves, the water rises and 
sinks again along the shores twice every day. These 
risings and fallings are called tides; and you will under¬ 
stand their cause better by and by. The tides are not 
of the same height everywhere. In some places the rise 
is only a foot or two; while in others the water at high 
tide covers quite large islands and rocks along the shore, 
that were dry before. 

Lesson IX.— How does the ocean look as you stand on the 
shore ? What motion has the water besides that of waves ? 


FIRST LESSON'S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


21 


LESSON X. 

OCEANS.-CONTINUED. 

2. — What is on the Water of the Ocean. 

If oceans were not between the portions of land, we 
should not live so comfortably; for we need many things 
not found in our country, and the people on the other 
side of the earth need things that we have. So all gain 



ON THE OCEAN. 


by exchanging one thing for another. This selling and 
buying is called trade, or commerce; and the more any 
country trades, the richer it becomes. All the things 
brought into a country are called its imports. All those 
sent out of the country are called its exports . 

Now, if every thing had to be carried by land, it would 
be tedious work, especially if the things were very heavy. 


22 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Besides that it would be so costly, that often merchants 
would not be paid for their time and trouble. But on 
water, heavy things may be carried with ease, speed, and 
cheapness. On the oceans, therefore, are many vessels, 
sailing here and there in all directions, carrying all sorts 
of things to all sorts of people. 

Vessels cannot stop out in the open sea, but must come 
near the shore, into good harbors, where the water is not 
so deep. Here a strong chain is thrown from the ves¬ 
sel, with a heavy iron anchor at one end, which sinks 
deep into the mud at the bottom of the water, and holds 
fast. Large cities will generally be built near good har¬ 
bors, where ships filled with merchandise can anchor in 
safety. 

Lesson X. — What is commerce ? Why cannot people trade 
wholly by land ? Why are good harbors necessary ? 


LESSON XI. 

OCEANS.-CONTINUED. 

3. — What is under the Water of the Ocean. 

You will expect to find fishes in the sea, of course; and 
there are many things besides. The fishes are various in 
size and color. Many are good for food, or useful in other 
ways; and some are so large as to be feared. 

There is a slender little fish called the flying-fish, not 
because it flies high in the air, like a bird, but because 
every little while it darts out of the water, and often falls 
upon vessels. It is a strange sight when a whole flock fly 
together. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


23 


In warm places, when the weather is pleasant, sailors 
sometimes see, gliding over the blue water, delicate, gauzy- 
looking things like air-bladders as bigas one’s fist. On the 
upper side are pretty crests, with all the colors of the rain¬ 
bow— blue, green, yellow, violet — sparkling in the sun- 



IN THE SEA 


shine. On the under side, delicate white streamers hang 
far down in the clear water, or float behind as these beau¬ 
tiful little creatures move along. With some of these they 
catch their food. They are called, by the sailors, Portuguese 
men-of-war. 

Often there are seen following vessels monstrous fishes, 
with long mouths, armed with two rows of sharp, strong 
teeth, ready to devour any thing that comes in their way. 
These are sharks: and the sailors fear them greatly; for 
they are indeed terrible creatures, and sometimes even eat 
men. If a poor fellow happens to fall overboard when 
sharks are near, he is sometimes seized and torn in pieces 
before a boat can be let down to save him. 

Of all creatures living in the sea, the whale is the largest, 
and one of the most useful. This huge animal is almost 
like an island when lying still in the water; but one can 


24 


OUR WORLD READER. 


distinguish him far off by an appearance of water spouting 
out of his nostrils. People kill whales to get their fat, 
which makes oil for lamps, and a fluid called spermaceti, 
from which candles are made. 

A horny substance, which we call whalebone, is also 
taken from the whale’s mouth. Many vessels are sent every 
year to catch whales; and, as the whalers stay out until 
they get as many barrels of oil as the ships can carry, 
they are sometimes gone a long time. 

It is difficult and dangerous to take whales; and men 
often lose their lives in this business. When the sailors 
see a whale, they lower small boats into the water, and row 
in them until they approach him, taking care not to frighten 
him. They have a long spear, called a harpoon , with a 
rope tied to one end; and this spear is shot from a gun at 
the whale. The huge creature then plunges deep into 
the water: but the rope is let loose by the men; and some¬ 
times, before they can strike him again, he lashes the 
water with his tail, so hard as to upset the boat and 
drown the sailors. 

If they succeed in killing the whale, the vessel is brought 
near; and the men jump upon the great back of the mon¬ 
ster, and cut off the fat in large lumps, which are afterward 
fried to make oil. 

There are many small animals in the ocean that live 
near the shore, among the rocks and sand. The oyster, 
for instance, lives between two rough shells shut tightly 
together, except when it opens them a little way to let 
in water, that brings the tiny creatures on which it feeds. 
Almost everybody likes to eat oysters; so cans and kegs 
are filled with them, and sent to cities far away from the 
sea; for oysters cannot live in the fresh water of rivers 
or lakes. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


25 


The clam has his house made of his two shells, like the 
oyster. Boys and girls living near the seashore go in 
parties, and have quite a merry-making in digging the 
clams out of the sand, and building a great fire on the 
stones to roast them. Lob¬ 
sters, also, are good for 
eating. They are curious, 
jointed animals ; and, when 
they are boiled, their hard 
shells turn from greenish- 
brown to a bright red. 

I cannot think of tell¬ 
ing you about all the fishes 
that are taken from the 
ocean for food. In some 
towns it is the business of 
the people to catch fish, 
salt them, and pack them in barrels to send to those who 
have no fish near them. The best of these salted fish are 
salmon, cod, and mackerel. 

There are many strange creatures in the sea not used 
for food. You remember the little coral animals. There 
are other little creatures which form the sponge , such as 
you use for your slates or for bathing. This is found in 
bunches, clinging fast by one end to rocks under the water; 
and men go out in boats and gather it by hooks on long 
poles. Sometimes, too, divers gather it with their hands. 
It must then lie in the sun, and must afterward be well 
washed before it is fit to use. 

Besides these living creatures, many plants called sea¬ 
weeds grow near the shore, but under the water, and 
often come floating to the surface, Some of them are 



A LOBSTER 



2 6 


OUR WORLD READER. 


used for food by people living on the seashore; some are 
useful in making glass and other things ; and some are 

carted away by farmers 
to spread over their fields 
as manure. 

Many seaweeds are 
very beautiful, with 
bright colors, red, yel¬ 
low, purple, and green: 
some have broad leaves 

) 

like fans; and others 
have fine, delicate 
branches, like tiny feath¬ 
ers. It is pretty work 
to press such seaweeds 
on paper, for they look 
like beautiful paintings. People often press and keep 
them, to learn about their ways of growing, as we do with 
the plants of the land. 

Lesson XI. — What do we find in the sea ? What is a flying- 
fish ? A shark ? What is said of the whale ? What is taken from 
the whale besides oil ? How are whales caught ? What smaller 
animals are spoken of ? What kinds of fish are salted ? What is 
said of sponge ? What are seaweeds ? Are they of any use ? 



LESSON XII. 

SPRINGS. 

In many parts of the country, springs of pure water 
abound. 

But besides the springs of good, clear water, you may 
have seen sulphur-springs or iron-springs. You know 
















E/RST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


27 


that iron and other minerals, such as sulphur and copper, 
as well as different kinds of salts, are found under the 
ground, mixed with the earth. The water, in some places, 
takes up particles of these minerals, as the stream flows 
over them, and tastes strongly of them. 

When such water bursts out in a spring, it is called 
a mineral spring; and these springs are often of much 
use. The waters are good for many diseases; and large 
hotels are sometimes built near the springs, for the per¬ 
sons who go to drink the mineral water. 

In some parts of the world there are hot sprmgs i 
where, though the water is clear and sparkling, it is as 
warm as if it had been heated on the fire. 

RIVERS. 

I have already told you that rivers rise from springs or 
small lakes. The water flows in the direction in which 
the ground slopes; since water, you know, cannot run 
up hill. Therefore, the beginning of a river — which is 
called its source —must always be higher than its end, 
which is called its month. A river must also be much 
smaller at the source than at the mouth ; for the longer 
it runs, the more streams flow into it. The largest rivers, 
then, will be those which flow through a great distance 
before reaching some ocean or sea. 

Now, water will run faster down a hill than on a level; 
so that rivers which flow through the most sloping coun¬ 
try will move most quickly; and often the water, finding 
steep rocks in the way, must tumble over them all at 
once; which it does with a great gushing, spattering 
noise, whirling and foaming, as you may know if you have 
ever seen a mill-dam, or even the water of a little brook 


28 


OUR WORLD READER. 


running over stones. What must it be, then, when the 
whole water of a great river falls over a high ledge of 
rocks ? 

This often happens in rapid rivers, and is called a 
waterfall or cataract. If it is only a narrow stream of 
water, leaping lightly down a steep place, it is a cascade. 



THE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. 


Fast-running rivers, with low falls here and there, are 
the best on which to build mills, since there is always a 
rush of water to turn the wheels. As mills are needed 
for making cloth, grinding corn, sawing plank, and many 
other things, these small rivers are very useful, even 
when not big enough for boats to sail upon. For these 
reasons, towns are generally built near some river, unless 
they are on the seashore; and even then it is well to have 
the town near the mouth of a river. 

Lesson XII.—Why do not all springs give pure water? Of 
what use are mineral springs ? What are hot springs ? How do 
rivers begin ? Which way do they run ? What is the end of a river 
called? The beginning? Which is the higher? Where will the 
large rivers be? What is a waterfall? A cascade? Of what use 
are falls ? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


29 


LESSON XIII. 

RAIN. 

As water is useful to us in so many ways, we like to 
know something about it. Since rivers are all the time 
flowing into the ocean or seas, and carrying water there, 
where does all the water come from that not only keeps 
the rivers full, but sometimes makes them overflow their 
banks ? 

You may think it comes from the ground, since springs 
are found there; but then, you will remember, the earth 
is at times dry and parched, so that many springs dry 
up, and farmers complain that the crops are spoiled. 
What does everybody long for at such times ? Rain, you 
say; and that is just it. The rain falls, the water sinks 
into the earth and fills the springs, thousands of little 
rivulets come rushing down every steep place in the coun¬ 
try, and perhaps the snows far off on the mountain-tops 
melt, and come pouring down, swelling the streams with 
more water to carry to the sea. 

But where does the rain come from ? Oh! from the 
clouds in the sky, you say. But, after all, perhaps you 
connot tell how the clouds came there. 

You often see wet clothes hung out to dry, and the 
water in them is soon gone; and, if you set a plate full of 
water out of doors, the water will slowly disappear, or, as 
you say, dry up. But the water from the clothes and the 
plate must be somewhere; and, in fact, it is in the air. 
Now, the air is always taking up water from the ground, 


30 


OUR WORLD READER. 


from ponds, lakes, and from the great ocean; so that you 
see the water is changing round all the time. It comes 
from the clouds pure and tasteless; it runs through the 
earth, getting a little of its minerals; and into the ocean, 
where it is bitter and salt; and at last to the sky once 
more, where it is all pure again. 

VAPOR. 

Since water is constantly rising into the air, it must be 
all the time around us in the air we breathe; and this 
is true ; yet we do not see it, except as mist or rain; 
neither can we see it when it is actually rising from 
the earth, though it disappears before our eyes. 

The fact is, it rises in a thinner, lighter form; for a 
whole drop of water could not be lifted up without being 
changed. 

While the water is rising into the air around us, it 
is called vapor , or moisture. 

When we feel this moisture, or vapor, we call it 

dampness. 

When the vapor becomes so thick that we can see it, 
we call it mist, or fog. 

But at last, when the air has received as much as it 
can hold, then the moisture gathers in clouds, and down 
it pours in drops of rain. 

The degree of moisture in the air around us makes a 
great difference to plants and animals, as well as to our 
own feelings, and often helps to make one country quite 
different from another. Where it is warm and very damp, 
trees and plants grow very large, and there are many 
serpents and insects ; but, where it is dry and hot, the 
leaves of plants are small, and mostly strong-smelling. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


31 


Lesson XIII. — Why do we wish to learn all we can about water? 
What keeps the rivers full ? Where does rain come from ? What 
happens when wet clothes are hung out to dry? Is there always 
water in the air? Why do we not see it always? What is vapor? 
Dampness? Mist, or fog? When must rain fall ? What difference 
does the amount of moisture in the air make to plants and animals ? 
Who can tell the whole story of the rain ? 


LESSON XIV. 

THE SUN.-LIGHT AND HEAT. 

Now you have found out how the rain fills the rivers, 
how the moisture in the air makes the rain, and how 
the surface of the earth gives out moisture. 

But what causes the moisture to rise? As we always 
like to hang wet clothes in the sunshine, and as they 
will also dry by a fire, it must be heat that dries them 
chiefly, though they will always dry faster if kept in 
motion, as in a wind. 

In many ways, therefore, the sun is of great use to 
us. Indeed, we could not do without it, unless we were 
changed into very different creatures. The sun not only 
gives us light, but also heat, without which we could 
not live; and it also takes up moisture from the great 
ocean and lakes, which falls in showers over the land, 
making all green things grow, and filling the streams 
and rivers. 

If the sun shone upon the whole surface of the earth 
at once, there would be no night. But, as the world is 
shaped like a ball, only one-half can be lighted at one 
time. This you will see if you hold a large ball near a 



32 


OUR WORLD READER. 


lighted candle. The side next the candle will be in the 
light, while the opposite side is dark. 

But you can turn the ball round; and, instead of the 
same side always being lighted, the candle will shine 
upon one part of the ball, and then upon another. 

This is just what happens with the earth and the sun. 
Though you seem to see the sun in different places, 
it really does not move; and it is the earth turning 
very fast which makes the sun appear to move; just as, 
when you are riding very fast, the trees on the road¬ 
side seem to move. 

You can remember that this motion of the earth is 
like that of a top spinning round and round, and that 
the earth turns round once every day. In this way it 
is daylight in some lands while it is night in others; 
for whichever part is turned away from the sun has 
night, and each part takes its turn. 

You will see, now, that what we call day is our time 
for the sun. When we are just turning into the light, 
it is morning, and we say the sun rises. When we are 
turning away from the light, it is evening, and we say 
the sun sets. 

Heat also changes with the light. When the sun¬ 
beams fall directly upon any part of the earth’s surface, 
they give much heat as well as light; and so the noon 
is the hottest part of the day. At morning and evening 
the beams slant off more; and therefore it is cooler. 

You cannot understand the reason for the difference 
between the heat of summer and winter until you are older; 
but we will take the ball again, and try to learn why some 
parts of the earth are always hot , and other parts always 
cold. Let us mark on the ball two spots opposite each 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


33 


other, and then hold it so that the light of the candle 
shall fall directly upon another spot half-way between 
these two. You will see that the light is bx'ightest just in 
this last spot, and grows fainter around it as the rays slant 
off. Now, turning the ball carefully, and passing a pencil 
over the brightest parts, it will make a line entirely round 
the ball just half-way between the spots we first marked; 
and this line we call the equator. 

This is the way the earth moves; and there is a great 
belt on its surface many miles wide, where the sunshine is 
always hot; and the lands that lie in this belt are much 
warmer than those beyond it. 

The sun’s rays slant off more and more on each side of 
this belt, until at two opposite places, corresponding to the 
spots we first marked on our ball, there is very little light 
or heat. 

These places are called poles; and the lands around them 
are covered with snow. The parts between these and the 
hot lands are sometimes cold and sometimes hot, and are 
called temperate countries. 

Lesson XIV. — What causes moisture to rise? What gives us 
heat? Of what other use is the sun? Why do we have day and 
night? Why is it cooler at morning and evening than at noon? 
Why are some parts of the world always hot, and others always cold ? 
Can you explain this lesson with a ball and candle? 


34 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XV. 

CLIMATE. 

Here are some things to remember well. 

The sun shining on the earth makes heat for us. 

A circle round that part of the earth’s surface where 
the sunlight is brightest and hottest is called the equator. 

The sunlight slants off more and more as the distance 
from this line increases; and, at the two opposite places 
most distant from the equator, there is scarcely any heat 
or light. 

These places are called poles. One is the north pole, 
and the other the south pole. 

Climate is a name for the different weather in different 
places. 

All lands near the poles are cold, and covered with 


snow; and all low lands 

near the equator have a 

climate. 


Fig:. 1, 

Fig. 2. 

Pole. 

Pole. 



/ Temperate. \ 

/V Temperate. \ 

1 Equator Hot. | 

/ Equator Hot. 

( Hot. 1 

1 Hot. 1 

A Temperate. y 

Temperate. ^~^y 



Pole. 

Pole. 


Now you may draw on your slates a circle to represent 
the earth, and divide it so as to show where we find these 






FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


35 


different climates. Fig. i. These belts around the earth 
are called zones; but there are many reasons why there is 
not an equal degree of heat on all parts of the lines that 
divide them. Fig. 2 will better represent lines of equal 
heat and cold. 

Besides these differences of heat, there is another change 
that you cannot understand so well: but you can remem¬ 
ber that, in all parts of the world, the higher we go up 
above the earth’s surface, the colder it is; and this is why 
high mountain-tops are always covered with snow, though 
sugar-cane and oranges may grow at their bases. So here 
are two ways, Figs. 3 and 4, to represent degrees of heat:— 


Fig. 3. 


Pole. 



Pole. 


Lesson XV. — Tell all the things in this lesson that are to be 
well remembered. 





36 


OUR WORLD READER. 


PART SECOND. 


LESSON I. 

DIRECTION.-DISTANCE. 

Who can tell me what I mean when I say, “ In what 
direction are you going ? ” or, “ I shall walk in such a 
direction ? ” 

You all know how to find your own homes, and the 
homes of your different friends, and when to turn up one 
street or road, and when to turn down another; that is, 
you understand in what direction you must go in order to 
reach certain places. 

Now, if you wish to tell a person where a house is, you 
can do so by naming the streets to be passed through, or 
the houses on the way. But in the country, or far away 
in woods or deserts, or on the wide ocean, where there are 
neither houses nor roads, people could not travel without 
some way of knowing different directions. And it must 
be a way that everybody can understand, or one person 
could not explain to others exactly where he had been; 
and two persons could not find the same country except 
by chance. 

So, all over the world, people have come to learn direc¬ 
tion by the sun, which can be seen by all, whether on land 
or water. Where the sun seems to rise is called east; 
where it seems to set is west. When one stands with the 
right hand toward the east, and the left to the west, his 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


37 


face will be turned to the north, and his back to the south: 
so that east and west are opposite directions, and so also 
are north and south. Knowing these four directions,— 
north, east, south and west, — men can easily travel over 
the world, and find the places they look for. 

But, to save a great deal of trouble, they must know 
one thing more ; and that is, how far to go in one direc¬ 
tion. Suppose one man tells another that, to find a 
certain town, he must travel north, and afterward turn to 
the east: this man must have some idea how far north to 
go before turning east. For this reason, people every¬ 
where have land-measures, such as miles ; and degrees, 
which are much longer than miles. You see, then, how 
quickly one could find a town if he were told to go twenty 
miles toward the north, and then turn to the east and go 
on six miles farther. In this way, people can travel every¬ 
where, even on the ocean, where there are no paths. 
Looking at the sun every little while, the sailors know in 
what direction they are going, and, by counting the dis¬ 
tance they have sailed, how far they have yet to go. 

Besides the four great points,—north, south, east, and 
west,— we often use four more just between these. 

Half-way between north and east 
we call north-east ; half-way between 
south and east is south-east; and then 
there will be north-west and south- v 
west. Sailors have even more than 
these; and these directions are all 
marked down, and called the points 
of the compass; somewhat like this: — 



Lesson I. — What do we mean by direction? Why must all 
people have the same way of telling direction? How do we learn 


WESTERN. 



These two round maps show the two halves of our world. In 
which half do we live ? In the Western Hemisphere are two great 
countries. What are their names? In which of these do we live? 
Put your finger on the place. In what part are they wider, the 
northern or the southern part ? Which way is the western continent 
longest? How are the two great countries held together ? What is 
the name of the ocean east of America ? What countries are around 
the Pacific Ocean ? What icy oceans are about the poles ? Where 
can you stand in North America to be nearest to Asia? Which has 
more land, the eastern or the western hemisphere ? 












EASTERN. 



Look at the eastern hemisphere, and you will see that here also 
are two great countries held together by a narrow strip of land. 
Try to find it. One of these two continents is made up of Europe 
and Asia; so some people call it, for convenience, Eurasia. Which 
continent has more peninsulas, Eurasia or Africa? What is that 
big island in the eastern hemisphere ? What land east from the 
northern part of South America ? Suppose you sail west from North 
America, what then ? If you were in Australia and wanted to go to 
South America, which way would you sail ? Let us sail west from 
Europe, what then? What country south of Europe? Which is the 
largest ocean? What ocean would you sail over, going from Aus¬ 
tralia to Africa ? Would this be a warm or a cold voyage ? 










40 


OUR WORLD READER. 


WESTERN. 



On this map are the names of many islands, seas and bays. Find 
the islands from which we have cloves and cinnamon. Which way 
are they brought to North America for our pies and puddings? If 
you wanted to see bananas growing, to what islands would you sail 
from North America? In what direction? Where are England and 
Ireland? Do bananas grow there? Why not ? From which of all 
the islands did the forefathers of New England come? In what 
direction do the steamships sail from us to that island ? Where do 
the canary-birds come from ? 









FIRST LESSONS IN GOGRAPHY. 


41 


EASTERN. 



To what continent is their island nearest? Do you think they 
ever fly across ? Could the canary-birds live out of doors in Iceland ? 
Name some of the islands where you think a canary-bird could live 
out of doors all the year round. From what islands does some of our 
sugar come ? Which way should you sail to get the sugar ? Which 
way would you sail from that island to carry it over to the children 
in England ? Where is the cold, foggy island where the fishermen 
live ? 









42 


OUR WORLD READER. 


direction ? What else besides direction must we think of in travelling ? 
What is a compass? In what direction is your school-house from 
the nearest church ? 


LESSON II. 

MAPS. 

For this lesson, I should like to show you what th zplan 
of a house is. You know what a picture is, and that a 
picture of a house can give us quite a good idea of the 
house when we are not near it. But then we see only half 
of the house: for, if the picture represents the front, we 
cannot see the back ; or, if one side is drawn, we cannot 
see the other, — whether it has doors, windows, or porches. 
Now it often happens that, for building or other purposes, 
it is necessary to understand exactly about all parts of the 
house at once: and this can be done by a sort of drawing 
called a plan; that is, a drawing of only the floors of the 
house. These plans, though not pretty, like pictures, are 
yet very useful. 

Let us see, now, if we can draw the plan of a house. It 
will be quite easy,—only a few straight lines. First, we 
will make for the front edge of the 

floor a long line, so-. Next, 

making the corner square as it is, we 
will draw a line for one side, and we 

shall have the two lines, thus_| ; 

and then add the other side, thus, 

|_] . And, when the last line for 

the back edge of the floor is made, there will be the shape 
of the house, as in Fig. i. But let us divide this floor 


Fig. 1. 





FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


43 


into three rooms, — a large room on one side of the pas- 

other side, as in 


sage, and two small ones on the 
Fig. 2. Then places for the doors 
and windows can be marked out by 
leaving open places in the floor-lines. 
When all this is done, the ground- 
plan, or floor-picture, will be finished 
(Fig. 3), and carpenters could build 
from it another house just like it. 

Each of you may try to make a 
plan for to-morrow, either of the 
school-house or your own dwelling. 

You will see now that, though 
many pictures have been made of 
different parts of the earth, still those 
who have never seen the places could 
not learn where they were, nor how 
large, nor of what shape. So we are 
obliged to have plans of the earth’s 
surface, — plans of islands, oceans, 
continents, — made 


Tig. 2. 

Back. 


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Tig. 3. 

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2d roon 

Door. 

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F ig . 4. - 

^Toyn 

Islan|p|gir Lah 

Capel 


by men who have seen them. But 
you must remember that the edges 
of land are not straight, like the 
edges of a floor, and must be drawn 
with all the gulfs and bays ; so that 
the plan or ground of an island 
might look somewhat like Fig. 4. 

And just as doors and windows 
are represented by little lines that 
do not look much like them, so the 
mountains, rivers, and towns are marked out by signs 
that every one knows. 














44 


OUR WORLD READER. 


These plans of land and water are called maps; and by 
them you will learn where all the countries of the world 
are, with their mountains, rivers and towns. 

Maps are generally made with the top for the north, and 
the right side for the east, the bottom for the south, and 
the left side for the west. 

Sometimes you will see one map much larger than an¬ 
other of the same country ; but that is only like having a 
large and a small portrait of the same person. 

You must be very careful to remember this, or you will 
get queer notions of the world. We cannot always use a 
map with the whole of the earth’s surface upon it, because 
there would not be room to mark half the rivers and towns. 
Some parts of the world are so thickly settled that the 
towns are not more than a mile or two apart, and the map 
of such a country will need room for a great many names; 
while again there are miles of wild woods, or desert land, 
with scarcely a house or village. So it often happens that 
for the smallest countries we need the largest maps; but 
you must never forget how the different countries compare 
with each other in size on the map of the world. 

I think you will understand all this easily enough when 
you remember how often you see in one book a very little 
picture of a horse, and in another book quite a large picture 
of a butterfly. Yet you never suppose that a butterfly is 
as big as a horse; and this is because you know so well 
their real size. 

Just so you should look at the countries on the map of 
the world until you are quite sure how they compare with 
each other in size. Their form is always the same, whether 
they are drawn large or small. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


45 


Lesson II. — What is the difference between a picture and a plan 
of a house ? What is the plan of a house ? What are maps ? 
Which part of the map is generally north ? Are maps of the same 
country always of the same size? Why do we sometimes need a 
large map of a small country ? 


LESSON III. 

THE HEMISPHERES. 

The best way to learn about the surface of the earth is 
to have a map drawn on a round wooden ball, which would 
look like a little world; but this is not always convenient, 
and we are obliged to have maps made on flat paper. This 
is easy enough when only the map of a part of the earth is 
made: but it is hard to make the whole round surface at 
once on paper; therefore it is the custom to divide it into 
two equal parts. 

Any round ball is a sphere; and half of the ball would 
be half a sphere, or a hemisphere. 

On the following pages are two maps, each representing 
half the earth’s surface. One is called the map of the 
Eastern Hemisphere , and the other the map of the Western 
Hemisphere . 

On the Eastern Hemisphere you will find one great 
continent, which has three grand divisions, named Europe, 
Asia, and Africa. There is also a very large island, named 
Australia, which may be called a second continent. 

On the map of the Western Hemisphere, you will find 
one continent, divided into North America and South 
America. These were not known by the people living in 
the eastern continent for a long, long time; and for this 


4 6 


OUR WORLD READER. 


reason the Western Hemisphere is often called the New 
World. 

These continents are separated by large oceans, and in 
the oceans are scattered many islands. 

Around the North Pole is the Arctic Ocean. Just 
opposite this, around the South Pole, is the Antarctic 
Ocean. Between Asia, Africa, and Australia is the Indian 
Ocean. That long ocean, reaching from the Arctic to 
the Antarctic, with Europe and Africa on one side, and 
America on the other, is the Atlantic. The fifth and last 
ocean is the largest of all, and is between Asia, Australia, 
and North and South America. This is the Pacific. 

Lesson III.—What is the best way to represent the surface of 
the earth ? What way is more convenient ? What is a sphere ? A 
hemisphere? What do we find on the map of the Eastern Hemh 
sphere? What on the Western? Why is the Western Hemisphere 
called the New World? What are found between the continents? 


LESSON IV. 

THE GRAND DIVISIONS OF LAND. 

Asia is the largest of these grand divisions. It is 
divided into different countries, and in them live many 
nations who are pagans; that is, they know nothing of 
God whom we worship, and many of them make idols 
of wood or stone. There are no Christians, except a 
few here and there, who have been taught by preachers, 
called missionaries , sent from Christian lands. 

But what seems rather strange is, that in the part of 
the world where we find most pagans is the country 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


47 

where Christ was born, and where most of the things 
happened that are mentioned in the Bible. 

Very many years ago, in the western parts of Asia, 
there were large, rich cities, in which were many splen¬ 
did houses, and a great trading and travelling people. 
Perhaps you have heard of one of these cities, called 
Babylon; for it is often spoken ot’ in the Bible. It was 
in this region that the wonderful stories of the “Ara¬ 
bian Nights” about genii, enchanted palaces, golden 
fruit, and talking birds, were first told • for even grown 
people there like to listen to such stories. 

Africa. —As soon as Africa is named, you all, of 
course, think of the negroes; for this is the part of the 
world where they lived before they were carried to 
other countries. There are many tribes of negroes in 
Africa, each tribe with its own king. They are mostly 
ignorant, wear few clothes, and build no fine houses. 

This, I dare say, you knew before; but what you do 
not know, perhaps, is, that the northern part of Africa 
has always belonged to a very different sort of people. 
In the old time, so far from being ignorant, much of 
the learning of that day came from them; and to this 
time are found in that country some of the most won¬ 
derful buildings that man ever made. These people have 
dark, brownish skins, straight, long hair, and small, 
pretty features. They are not so great and powerful 
now as they once were. 

In Africa, as well as in Asia, are many fierce, wild 
beasts that we do not have here, — lions, tigers, elephants, 
leopards, and many others. 

Europe. —Europe is the smallest of all the grand 
divisions, but perhaps the most interesting; at least, we 


48 


OUR WORLD READER. 


know much more about it. Almost all the people are 
Christians, and some of the greatest nations have lived 
there. It is now divided into many countries, of which 
you will learn something by and by. 

Long, long ago, a powerful people lived in the south 
of Europe, and became masters of all the countries 
around them. They were called Romans, and their 
great city is still visited by persons who wish to see 
the ruins of their beautiful buildings. But they have 
passed quite away; and even their language, the Latin, 
is no longer spoken, though still taught in our schools. 

America. —As the main parts of che continent of 
North America and South America are quite far away 
from the others, separated from them by great oceans, 
it was many hundred years before the people in the 
other half of the world dreamed that there was such a 
great country opposite them. It was only after they 
began to think the earth was round that they sailed 
across the ocean far enough to find America. 

A dark-colored, wild people were found there; but 
now the greater part of the continent is filled with 
white people from the Old World. Those who first 
came were from different parts of Europe, and soon 
made new homes and towns among the woods of 
America. 

Australia. — This continent is almost as large as 
Europe, and although it is rather newly settled, hand¬ 
some cities have grown up rapidly along the coast. 
Australia belongs to England and has been settled by 
English people. Although the first settlers went to 
find gold, farmers now raise sheep and cattle. They 
also make wheat grow, and maize, while some people 
still dig for gold and for other ores as well. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


49 


Lesson IV. — Which is the largest grand division? What is said 
of it? What grand division south-west of Asia? What is said of it? 
Which is the smallest grand division? What do we know of Europe? 
What great continent on the other side of the world? What people 
were found there when the first settlers came from the Old World? 
What is said of Australia? 


LESSON V. 

ABOUT THE OCEANS.-ATLANTIC. 

Of all the oceans, the Atlantic is the most travelled 
over, and the best known. Around its sides are many 
gulfs and bays, making good harbors. The people who 
live near it are those who trade the most; so that hun¬ 
dreds of vessels are always sailing over its waters. In 
this ocean are many large islands, and from some of 
them the vessels bring fruits, sugar, molasses, and salt. 
In the northern part of the Atlantic are many vessels 
looking for whales, and others going home, already 
filled with barrels of oil. 

A little south of the whaling ships we shall find, 
rushing straight across, backward and forward between 
America and Europe, immense steamers, making all the 
haste they can. These steamers not only carry passen¬ 
gers, but cotton, flour, grain and provisions from Amer¬ 
ica, and bring back from Europe muslins, silks, woolens, 
and other goods. 

Sailing up from the coasts of South America are vessels 
loaded with coffee, sugar, dye-stuffs, and hides, or going 
back with flour, cloth, etc. Very often on the Atlan¬ 
tic there are rough winds and violent storms, destroying 


50 


OUR WORLD READER . 


many vessels; but sometimes no wind blows for days, and 
vessels can scarcely move. 

The gulfs, seas, and bays which are a part of the Atlan¬ 
tic are Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Gulf 
of Guinea, Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Biscay, North Sea, 
and Baltic Sea. 

Lesson V. — Which of the oceans is best known ? What vessels 
sail in the North Atlantic? What ones between America and Europe? 
Between North and South America? What of the winds? What 
gulfs and bays are made by the Atlantic? 


LESSON VI. 

PACIFIC OCEAN. 

The Pacific Ocean is larger than any other, and is in 
the form of a great round basin. It is far less rough and 
stormy than the Atlantic, and therefore was called Pacific , 
which means peaceful. But this larger ocean is not so 
much travelled as the Atlantic; for most of the people who 
live along its shores have a habit of staying at home, and 
do not go about trading and exploring, as those nations do 
who live on the shores of the Atlantic. 

Many vessels are sent out on the Pacific to take whales 
of a different kind from those of the Atlantic. They have 
no whalebone, and not so much oil; but from the head 
is taken spermaceti, used for making beautiful, hard, 
white candles ; and something called ambergris, used as 
a perfume, is sometimes obtained from them. 

Scattered about in the Pacific—particularly toward the 
south — are hundreds of islands, large and small. Many 


FI A 1 ST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


51 


of these islands are made by the coral animals, and are 
often very beautiful. But the people who live on them 
are mostly savages, with brown skins, and who wear hardly 
any clothes. They are ignorant and lazy, and they like to 
swim in the clear, bright sea, or lie on their mats in the 
pleasant air of the long summer days. 

Seaweeds grow larger in this ocean than anywhere else. 
Some of the leaves are very long, even several hundred 
feet. 

Of late years, since so many people live in California, 
numbers of large steamships sail along the coast. Some 
vessels sail quite round South America, from the Atlantic 
into the Pacific; but the steamers go from the Isthmus 
to California, and back again, although many people and 
goods are carried across the continent by railroads. 

The gulfs and seas which are a part of the Pacific are 
Sea of Kamtschatka, Sea of Ochotsk, Sea of Japan, Yel¬ 
low Sea, China Sea, and, on the opposite side, the Gulf of 
California. 


INDIAN OCEAN. 

The Indian Ocean is much smaller than the other two, 
and is wholly in a warm climate. In it are many islands, 
some of which are very large. It is from these islands 
that vessels come loaded with spices, gums, coffee, and 
sugar. From its waters are taken great numbers of pearls, 
used for ladies' ornaments, which often cost large sums 
of money. Pearls are found inside the shells of a kind of 
oyster; and as these oyster-shells lie far down among the 
rocks and sand at the bottom of the sea, men dive under 
water to get them. This is very unpleasant work; and one 
would never think such pretty little things could cause so 
much hard labor and pain. 


52 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Diving is so dangerous and difficult, that only the poor¬ 
est of the people living on those islands can be hired for 
pearl-divers. Parties of perhaps a dozen men go out in 
boats a little way from the shore, and then half of them 
dive to the bottom, where, for a few moments, they scrape 
as many shells as they can into bags which are hung round 
their necks, and come up again when they must breathe 
the air. Water and often blood gush from their ears and 
eyes. While these men rest, the others dive. This is very 
fatiguing and painful work, and divers seldom live to be 
old men. It is no wonder that ladies must pay so much 
for their pearls. Sometimes men go down in diving-bells, 
which are filled with air, so that they can stay a much 
longer time. 

The seas, gulfs, and bays made by the Indian Ocean are 
the Bay of Bengal, the Sea of Arabia, the Persian Gulf, 
and the Red Sea. 

Lesson VI. — Which is the largest ocean? Why is it called the 
Pacific? Why is it travelled less than the Atlantic? What is said of 
the whales taken in it ? What is said of its islands ? Why do many 
vessels go to California? How do they get there? What gulfs and 
seas are made by the Pacific? What is said of the Indian Ocean? 
How are pearls found ? What bays and gulfs are made by the Indian 
Ocean ? 


LESSON VII. 

MORE ABOUT THE OCEANS. 

With the Antarctic Ocean we seem to have very little 
to do, and no one cares much for it. Whales are caught 
there; and from time to time some men have taken a 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


53 


notion to sail on its waters, and see what they could find. 
Only a little land has been seen; and all is cold, dreary, 
and out of the way of the rest of the world. 

It is quite different with the Arctic Ocean. Though its 
waters are generally frozen, and the climate is very severe, 
men have managed to find out a good deal about it; and 
are still trying to learn more, even with great suffering, as 
you may one day read in the books written by those who 
have been there. 

There is much land around the North Pole, as the Arctic 
Ocean is enclosed by the largest parts of three continents. 
Most of the land farthest north is too dreadfully cold for 
any people to live there; but many persons have thought 
that a way might be found to sail through the Arctic 
Ocean, and so make a shorter voyage from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, bringing many countries near together that now 
seem very far apart. For this reason, and some others, 
people have, every little while, sent out vessels, well pre¬ 
pared with food, coal, and wood; and bold, hardy men, 
determined to bear the cold as long as possible. 

Some of these vessels, with their men, have never been 
heard from; a few traces of others have been found, per¬ 
haps after several years, showing that they had been frozen 
up in the ice, and perished. 

A few have returned, after great suffering, to tell what 
they have found. In those dreary seas, scarcely any thing 
is seen but ice. Sometimes the water is frozen hard into 
a great sheet for many miles; and, even when it is open 
and deep, there are huge lumps of ice floating slowly 
about: in fact, they are called icebergs , which means ice- 
mountains. 

It is very aangerous sailing among these icebergs; for 


54 


OUR WORLD READER. 



they may drive against vessels, in the fog or the night. 
It often happens that a vessel is frozen fast in a bed of 
ice, and cannot move for months, or even for a year; and 
the men not only are frozen so badly as to lose fingers or 
toes, but suffer for the want of fresh food. 

Lesson VII. — What is said of the Antarctic Ocean? What of 
the Arctic? Why is the land about this ocean not very useful? Why 
have people cared to go there ? What are icebergs ? Why are they 
dangerous ? 







FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


55 


LESSON VIII. 

ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

East Indies. —These large islands are mostly rich and 
beautiful, and for a great while people have been trading 
there from all parts of the world. The climate is hot, so 
that the forests never lose their leaves; and the islands 
are covered with a great variety of plants and sweet-smell¬ 
ing shrubs. All kinds of spices grow there,—pepper, 
cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon, — besides those costly woods 
used for making work-boxes and other small articles. Eb¬ 
ony is one of these, — a very 
hard, black wood, which can 
be polished so as to shine 
as if it were varnished. Ar- 
other kind is the fragrant san¬ 
dal-wood, of which fans are 
often made. Cloves are the 
flower-buds of shrubs which 
grow there. The cinnamon 
we use in cooking is the inside 
bark of the cinnamon tree, 
and is brought to us in bits of 
the curled bark, or finely powdered. A strong-smelling 
oil is sometimes made from cinnamon, and oil is also made 
from cloves and nutmegs. From certain trees in these 
islands a great quantity of a clear white gum is taken, 
which we call camphor. Other gums, used for medicine, 
are found here; and the sago, so good for puddings, is 



56 


OUR WORLD READER. 



made from the pith of certain trees. In the East Indies 
are a great many dye-woods, used for making beautiful 
colors. As all these things sell for much money, men are 
well paid for sending vessels to these islands to obtain 
them. 

West Indies. —These are large islands south-east of 
North America. If you will look carefully, you will see 

that these also lie near 
the equator, where we 
know it must be very 
warm : indeed, it is al¬ 
ways summer; and the 
people wear thin, light 
clothes to keep cool. 
Sailing south on the 
Atlantic, and coming 
from the cool, northern 
countries, we shall soon 
see these islands ris¬ 
ing, all green and beau¬ 
tiful, out of the water. 
There will be groves of 
tall, straight-stemmed 
cocoanut-trees, with 
their long leaves 
spreading out at the 
tops ; and clusters of orange-trees, with their golden 
fruit hanging thick among the green leaves, and their 
beautiful white flowers, whose sweet smell comes through 
the air with every breeze. There are bananas and 
pine-apples and many other rich, sweet fruits. But what 
we shall most notice will be great fields of something, 




FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


57 


which, at a distance, we might take for corn, but which is 
sugar-cane, stretching far and green over all the small hills. 
Scattered about here and there, in the midst of clusters of 
fruit-trees, stand the houses of those who own the sugar¬ 
cane ; and near each dwelling is a sugar-house, where the 
sugar is made, and then sent to the largest towns of the 
island. Vessels are waiting in the harbor to bring away 
all this sugar, to be sold in colder places, where the cane 
cannot grow. 

Coffee and tobacco also grow here; and the best cigars 
which you see gentlemen smoke probably came from one 
of the West-India islands. A great deal of salt is brought 
from some of the islands. Deep troughs are made in the 
ground, and filled with the salt sea-water. The hot sun 
soon draws up the water into the air, leaving at the bottom 
thick cakes of salt. 

Lesson VIII. — Where are the East Indies? What is their cli¬ 
mate ? What shrubs grow there ? Tell what is said of them? Where 
are the West Indies? What trees and plants grow there? How is 
sugar made? What other things are brought from there? How 
is salt made? If a vessel should sail for Europe from one of these 
islands, how would it go-? If it should sail for North America, which 
way must it go ? What would it carry ? 


LESSON IX. 

MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

British Isles. —You have all heard of England and 
the English people. Indeed, you hear of them more fre¬ 
quently than of any other country or people : and it would 
be strange if it were not so; for the Americans speak 


58 


OUR WORLD READER. 


their language, and the great-great-grandfathers of us were 
Englishmen, who came over and settled in America long 
ago. 

But it is not only we who hear and speak of England. 
The English are known far and wide over the earth. Their 
vessels sail on every ocean, sea, or gulf. There are also 
numerous bits of land that they claim as their own ; and 
some are very large bits too, — much larger than their own 
England. They have sent out many armies, fought many 
battles, built many cities, during hundreds of years, and 
are more powerful than most of the nations of the earth. 
You will think, therefore, to find England a very big piece 
of the earth’s surface; but you will find, off the west of 
Europe, in the Atlantic Ocean, two large islands, and 
these are the British Isles; that is, England and Scotland 
making one, and Ireland the other. 

Though they make such a small country, they hold a 
multitude of people. In fact, they are rather crowded; 
and many ship-loads of men, women, and children, sail off 
to try their fortunes in some new place, like America or 
Australia, where there is spare land. As there are so 
many people with so little land, they employ themselves 
in all kinds of manufactures; that is, in making all manner 
of things to wear or to use. There are cloth-factories, 
where they make calico, cotton-cloth, and woolens ; china- 
factories, iron-factories, paper-factories, &c. It is very 
interesting to learn how some of the commonest things 
are made; but you must read about them in other books. 
Multitudes of people are also employed in mining and in 
commerce. 

You must not think that all the people in England are 
busy workmen; for, beside the millions of laborers, there 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


59 



or Lord John. Many of these lords live in large, fine 
houses, with parks, hot-houses, and beautiful pictures and 
statues. The lands and titles are kept in the family, some¬ 
times for several hundred years, by giving them to the 
eldest son, instead of dividing the property among all the 
children, as would be done here. 


are many rich men, who own the factories and mines ; and 
doctors, merchants, lawyers, &c., just as we have here. 
There is a class of people in England, called the nobility , 
quite different from any in our country. They use titles 
before their names. Instead of Mr. Howard, a nobleman 
would be called Lord Howard ; and if you lived there, and 
belonged to the nobility, you would be calledLady Emma. 














6o 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Japan Islands. —These Islands are off the eastern 
coast of Asia, and make quite a large country. Japan is 
still more crowded than England, for the people have had 
no fancy for going about and settling in other countries, as 
the English have done. For a long time they kept their 
own way of dressing and living, and allowed few strangers 
to visit their country. Lately, however, they have taken 
some of our customs, and have sent some of their young 
people to England and America to be educated. They 
now have in their own country good schools much like 
ours. They carry on quite a trade with other countries, 
and we see many curious and beautiful things from Japan 
in our shops, for steamers are running all the time between 
Japan and California. 

Lesson IX. — What other people speak the same language that 
we do? Why? What is said of the English? Is England a large 
country ? How are the people in England employed? What is meant 
by the nobility? Where are the Japan Islands? What do we know 
of them ? 


LESSON X. 

MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS. 

Azores. — If we should sail from the middle part of the 
coast of North America, eastward over the Atlantic, for a 
number of days, we should at last see, far off, something 
like bluish, shadowy clouds ; but the sailors would say that 
it was land; and, after a few hours’ sailing, the misty 
clouds would change into a group of beautiful islands, 
called the Azores. 

High cliffs rise from the midst of the foaming waves, all 
cut and gashed in deep cracks, through which many noisy 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


61 


torrents and sparkling cascades come rushing and leaping 
down into the sea. Here and there on the sides of the 
hills, farther inland, are thick groves, and fields of bright 
green, spotted with white houses and little villages. And 
over all this is the clearest, brightest sky; and the soft air 
is made sweet by the fragrance of orange-blossoms. The 
weather is delightful, and people from both continents go 
there for health. These islands are quite small. 

Madeiras and Canaries. — Leaving the Azores, and 
sailing some miles farther east, we should find another 
group of islands, called the Ma¬ 
deira Islands, where they make 
the Madeira wine that is so much 
used. 

Very near these are the Canary 
Islands; and I am sure you all 
know the little birds that were 
first brought from these islands, 
and cannot live in our cold cli¬ 
mate, except in houses, where we 
keep them in cages. The bright* 
soft yellow, called canary-color, is the natural color of 
the birds; but they are often partly brown from mixing 
with the linnet, a little dark bird of the same size, that 
sings beautifully. 

Far south of the Canaries, just west of Africa, is a small, 
rocky island, quite alone and dreary, which is neither use¬ 
ful nor beautiful; but people remember it because it was 
there that the great emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was 
kept a prisoner. Probably some of you know already 
what a powerful man he was, and what great armies he 
had, who would march wherever he directed them. But 


















62 


OUR WORLD READER. 


his enemies took him prisoner at last; and, because they 
thought no other prison would keep him safely, he was 
sent to St. Helena, that lone, rocky island in the sea. 

In the Indian Ocean, just south of Asia, there is quite a 
large island, called Ceylon ; and, like the other islands in 
this ocean, it has a hot climate, with no winter, and many 
spices and fragrant woods and gums. But, above all, the 
coast of Ceylon is famous for its beautiful pearls, which 
are finer than any others. 

Besides these islands, there are thousands of smaller 
ones scattered over the Atlantic, and even more over the 
Pacific ; but you will not learn of them just now. 

In the midst of the Pacific is a group called the Sand¬ 
wich Islands, which are now well known in many parts of 
the world. Missionaries went there years ago to teach the 
natives, who have now become quite civilized. They have 
schools and churches, and keep up a large trade, especially 
with California. We often see in our newspapers the 
names of vessels sailing from Honolulu, which is the 
largest town of these islands. 

There is, however, one large island we must not forget. 
It is off the north-east coast of North America, at the 
mouth of the St. Lawrence, and is called Newfoundland. 
It is cold most of the year. A large part of the island is 
bare and dreary ; and there are heavy, damp fogs almost 
all the time. From all this, you might think Newfound¬ 
land of little use; but it is worth a good deal, and men 
have even fought for a right to its shores, because thou¬ 
sands of barrels of fish are caught every year in the waters 
near the island. The shore is lined with fishermen’s huts, 
and platforms for drying the fish after they are salted. 
The cod is the fish chiefly taken; and it is sent in large 
quantities to other parts of the world. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


63 


Half-way between Europe and America, in the North 
Atlantic, is a large island called Iceland; and, from its 
name, you might think it the coldest place in the world i 
but it is not so. Though it is so far north, it is, from cer¬ 
tain causes, milder than other places that are farther south. 
There are some high mountains on the island, and won¬ 
derful springs of boiling water, called geysers , that are 
great curiosities. There is also a volcano. About a 
hundred years ago, this volcano threw out so much lava, 
that villages and crops were destroyed, and fish near the 
island were killed by the lava that flowed into the sea, so 
that there was a famine. You will wonder why people 
live in a country where they have so hard a time between 
the cold climate and the under-fires. But the Icelanders 
love their home and are brave and industrious. 

The Bahamas and Bermudas are two groups of small 
islands in the Atlantic, north of the West Indies. 

Lesson X. — Where are the Azores? What is said of them? 
What islands not far from them? What come from the Canary- 
islands? From the Madeiras? What of St. Helena? Of Ceylon? 
Of the Sandwich islands? Of Newfoundland? What of Iceland? 
What islands north of the West Indies? 


LESSON XI. 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

See Map. 

When I speak of a chain of mountains, you must re¬ 
member that they do not run in one long, unbroken row, 
but a chain is made up of many ridges of different length 


WESTERN HEMISPHERE 



Now we have the two halves of the globe again, with the moun¬ 
tains and rivers this time. Which way do the mountains extend in the 
western hemisphere ? Which way do most of the chains of Eurasia 
extend ? Why are the lines that represent the rivers so crooked ? Is 
there a brook or a river in your town ? Does it flow far in a straight 
line ? Why not ? Where are the lines for the rivers broader, at the 
beginning or at the end? Why is a river broader at one end than at 
the other ? See if the lines that represent rivers often cross the 
marks that stand for mountains. Why not? In North America 
what are the great ranges of mountains ? Which shut in the Missis¬ 
sippi basin on the east ? Which on the west ? What is the great 
range of mountains in South America ? Which coast is it near ? 














EASTERN HEMISPHERE 



On which side is the great river ? What is its name ? Do the same 
things grow all along the course of the Mississippi ? Why not ? How 
is it with the Amazon ? Why ? What smaller range of mountains is in 
the eastern part of South America? What in the eastern part of 
North America? Where are the mountains in Africa? Look at the 
roundish spots which show where the Nile begins. What are they ? 
Where are the highest mountains in Asia ? These are the very 
highest in all the world. What rivers rise here? Why are the 
rivers that run into the Arctic ocean of so little use ? What is the 
prettiest river in Europe ? Where does it rise ? See what river in 
Europe looks the longest. Put your finger on the place to show 
the volcano that once did so much harm. 












64 


OUR WORLD READER. 


and height, often crossing one another, and making valleys 
between the peaks. 

There is just such a long, wide-spreading chain of moun¬ 
tains running through the western part of North America, 
called the Rocky Mountains. Many parts of these ridges 
are rough and dreary; and, while the rest of the country 
has become thickly settled, this has still few towns. Parties 
of bold, hardy men, who make a business of hunting, often 
wander through the thick forests and bare plains to shoot 
deer, bears, and antelopes. There were once many buf¬ 
falos or bisons, but there are none here now. The hunters 
have no houses, only huts or sheds here and there, and 
camp when they find a good place. 

There is another range much nearer the Pacific coast^ 
called the Sierra Nevada. Not a great many years ago, it 
was found out that there was much gold in these moun¬ 
tains ; and a great many people rushed here from all parts 
of the country to dig gold, and to get rich all at once. Not 
only from America, but from other countries, even from 
the coast of Asia, where people are so fond of staying at 
home, men crowded to the gold-mines ; and so many went, 
that, in a very short time, a large city was built up as if by 
fairy work. Other smaller towns were settled where the 
gold was plenty; and there is now quite a rich State off 
there beyond the Rocky Mountains. But it has be¬ 
come rich more from its grain and fruits than from its 
gold. New States are rapidly growing up among the 
Rocky Mountains, where have been found mines of silver 
and copper, lead and iron. Many travellers now cross this 
vast mountain region on the railroads and tell us of its 
geysers and other wonders. 

The southern part of the Rocky Mountains extends 
through that narrow part of North America, which, as you 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


65 


may see on your map, reaches toward the equator, where 
the climate is warm. Among the highest peaks, are 
many volcanoes; some of them smoking and flaming. 
Several ridges spread out, making a high, level table land 
in the midst of the mountains. Here is a large city 
called Mexico, and villages are scattered in the smaller val¬ 
leys. 

Lesson XI.—What is a chain of mountains ? What chain through 
the western part of North America? What is said of it? What 
range nearer the Pacific? Where is the gold region? What is said 
of it? What of the mountains of Mexico? 


LESSON XII. 

MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

Andes. —The Rocky Mountains, instead of ending 
with North America, seem to extend quite through the 
neck of land that joins it to South America, and run along 
the whole western coast of this grand division also ; but, 
in South America, these mountains are called the Andes. 

In many parts, the Andes are very high; but they do 
not spread out so wide as the Rocky Mountains. How¬ 
ever, toward the middle part, several ridges open wide 
enough to make a high valley, with cities in it. 

Generally the mountain sides are steep, and the valleys 
deep and narrow : so that often, instead of valleys, they 
are only ravines; that is, deep cuts. Travelling across 
such mountains is not easy; and yet there are more cities 
built on their sides than among the Rocky Mountains. 
There are few roads fit for any kind of cart or carriage • 
and people ride on mules, or donkeys, which are still more 


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OUR WORLD READER. 



sure-footed. These donkeys often carry very heavy loads, 
and will walk over the most dangerous paths without 
stumbling. In some wild places, travellers ride in a sort 
of chair strapped on the back of an Indian, who is used to 


CLIMBING THE ANDES. 

such labor, and will carry a person in this way for miles. 
Sometimes, where a deep ravine is in the way, a queer sort 
of bridge is used: that is, two strong ropes are stretched 
across, and fastened tightly on each side. A basket is 
swung on the ropes; and a man sitting in this basket, 
with a rope under each arm, works himself along over a 
cut so deep that a fall would dash him to pieces. Often, 
to make it more frightful, there is a torrent of foaming, 
rushing water in the ravine. 










OUR WORLD READER. 


6y 


The sides of the mountains are covered with thick woods 
of huge trees, with shrubs of the richest green crowded 
between, interwoven with twining vines. 

Perhaps, as the mountain road winds continually, the 
traveller may get a sight of the ocean every little while, 
far, far down; for the Andes rise in many places directly 
from the Pacific Ocean, or from the Carribean Sea. 

Another very beautiful sight is the sunlight upon the 
far-off, higher tops, coloring them brilliantly when they 
are covered with snow. And, besides the light above, one 
may now and then look down, and see a cloud below one’s 
feet, causing rain in the valley while all is dry above. 
Sometimes, on a sudden* turn, a large city is seen spread 
out beneath. There are streets, church-spires, squares, 
fountains and red house-tops, glittering in the sun ; and, 
scattered through the*valley, clusters of trees, with clear, 
sparkling streams winding among them. 

If one were to go much higher, there would be only the 
cold air and dark pine woods, and, above thesfe, the ever¬ 
lasting snows ; for you must remember how cold it always 
is on high mountains, even in hot countries. 

The Andes are rich, in many parts, with gold and silver, 
particularly the latter; and, for this reason, there are 
towns built far up in bare, rocky places which are good 
for mining. The silver is dug out of the ground, mixed 
with earth and stones. This is called silver ore ; and, 
when it is heated, the silver melts, and runs off pure. 

There are some high volcanoes in this chain; and their 
explosions are often accompanied by a violent shaking of 
the earth for miles around. These shakings are called 
earthquakes , and often do great harm, throwing down 
houses, and crushing hundreds of people to death. 


68 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


Lesson XII.—Where are the Andes? What is said of them? 
How do people cross these mountains? Tell all you can about it? 
What should we find at the tops of the highest? What mines in 
these mountains ? What are earthquakes ? 


LESSON XIII. 

MORE ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS. 

Alleghanies. —-You must have noticed that the east¬ 
ern coast of North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to 
Hudson Bay, is not nearly so long as the western or Pa¬ 
cific coast. Running along this shore is a chain of moun¬ 
tains called the Alleghanies, much shorter than the Rocky 
Mountains, and also much lower. 

Like other chains, it is made up of many ridges, having 
different names. One ridge is called the White Mountains, 
another the Green, another the Catskill, another the Blue 
Ridge, another the Cumberland, &c. 

These mountains do not run close to the water, but leave 
a long strip of land between them and the Atlantic Ocean. 
This land is hilly near the mountains, and slopes down to 
a low plain near the sea. Through this plain, rivers rising 
in the Alleghanies flow into the ocean, turning mills as 
they go. 

Brazilian Mountains. — The mountains of South 
America seem to correspond exactly with those of North 
America; for just as the Andes match the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains (both being high, long chains), so the short, low 
ridges in the eastern part, called the Brazilian Mountains, 
correspond to the Alleghanies. It is enough for you, at 
present, to remember their names, and that many diamonds 
are washed from the streams flowing from them. 


OUR WORLD READER. 


69 

Mountains of Africa. — The whole middle part of 
Africa, as far as it has been explored, is high land, sloping 
down on all sides toward the water. The Kong Mountains 

are near the Gulf of 
Guinea, and the 
Lupata Mountains 
run along the east¬ 
ern coast. Near the 
northern coast is 
another chain, called 
the Atlas Moun¬ 
tains. Find these on 
your maps, and re¬ 
member the names. 

Mountains of 
Asia. —In the south¬ 
ern part of Asia, you 
will find a chain in 
which are the high¬ 
est mountains in the 
world. These are 
the Himalaya Moun¬ 
tains, running east 
and west, like most 
of the mountains of 
the Old World. 

The north side of 
this chain slopes to a great, high valley. The other side 
slopes toward the south, into lower valleys; so that the 
slope is much longer. In some places, the sides are 
very steep; and many rivers rush down, making foam¬ 
ing waterfalls and roaring torrents. Deep cuts are 




















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OUR WORLD READER. 


often worn in the earth, and even in rocks, by these 
streams, making wild, gloomy spots; and in other parts 
the hill-sides are covered with trees, many of them 
strange to us, like the sandal-wood, the ebony, bamboo^ 
banyan, and palm tree. In the hot thickets of the low 
lands, which are called jungles , there are lions and tigers; 
and the people go to hunt these fierce beasts. But it is 
not a very safe nor easy business: for, besides the terrible 
animals themselves, there are many poisonous snakes; 
and, as the sun cannot well get through the thick mass of 
leaves to dry the ground, there is always a hot, unhealthy 
air steaming from the rank leaves and decaying roots, that 
is apt to give fevers. 

There are three more long mountain chains north of 
the Himalaya, running in the same direction. You may 
find the names on the map; but they are rather hard to 
remember. 

Lesson XIII. —Where are the Alleghanies ? What are the names 
of different parts ? What lies between the mountains and the Atlan¬ 
tic? What mountains besides the Andes in South America ? What 
is said of them? What can you say of the mountains of Africa? 
What of the Himalaya Mountains ? What other mountain chains in 
Asia? 


LESSON XIV. 

MOUNTAINS.-CONTINUED. 

The Alps. — As Europe is smaller than America, and 
very much cut into by gulfs and bays, there is no room for 
such long chains as the Rocky Mountains or the Andes. 
But there is no want of mountains; and the greater part of 
the south and middle is rough, hilly country. 


FIRST LESSOA'S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


7 1 


Out of the many ridges and knots of mountains running 
in every direction, something like a regular chain, in the 
shape of a half-ring, may be marked out in the south of 
Europe, near the Mediterranean Sea. These are the Alps, 
and you will probably read and hear more of these moun¬ 
tains than of any others; for in the midst of the Alps, 
and around them, are several countries about which many 
interesting things are to be learned, besides what is strange 
and beautiful in the mountains themselves. 

Here are fine, rich pine woods, grand glaciers, the pret¬ 
tiest little villages, and, in the midst of the high valleys, 
some of the loveliest lakes in the world. 

Mountain travelling is generally hard work; but roads 
were made across the Alps hundreds of years ago, and now 
there is constant passing over the easiest paths. There 
are railroads, too, across the mountains, and in some places 
they run through the mountains in long, dark tunnels. 
Many persons are willing to do much hard climbing only 
to see this beautiful mountain country. Young men from 
all parts of Europe like to spend a summer shooting 
deer, on the Lower Alps; and men have been known to 
pass weeks at a time in the icy regions among the high 
peaks, that they might watch the motion of the glaciers. 
There are several peaks more grand and beautiful than 
the rest, and more visited : of these, the best known is 
Mont Blanc. 

How People live amidst the Alps . — One of the first 
ridges toward the north is covered with large, gloomy pine 
woods. The giant trees stand straight and close, the dark- 
green branches meet and lap, so that in many places the 
sun forces but little of his light through the deep shade: 
and, in fact, it is called the Black Forest; but all is not 
thickly wooded. 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


This Black Forest is known far and wide through the 
country. The trees grow wonderfully large and strong; 
and the same fresh mountain air that agrees so well with 
the trees seems to make great, broad-shouldered, strong- 
limbed men, with bright eyes and bold hearts. 

In the Black Forest we should find the men on one 
side of the hills wearing long beards, coarse, black jackets, 
enormous breeches tied below the knee, long red stock¬ 
ings, and sharp-crowned, wide-brimmed hats. Most of them 
work at glass-making, and are comfortably off in the world, 
with snug little houses near their glass-factories. 

Those who are not glassmen make clocks, for which they 
find the pine-wood very convenient; and the wooden clocks 
of the Black Forest are sold in many countries. 

On the other side of the woods there are no more glass- 
factories, no more red stockings. The people have quite 
a different way of living, and make the most of their pines. 
Many of the men are charcoal-burners ; but still more 
make a business of cutting the tallest, straightest trees, 
and floating them down the little streams into the River 
Neckar: from this they float into the Rhine, and down 
to the sea, where the pine-logs are used to make masts for 
ships. 

The raftsmen of the Black Forest wear brown linen 
jackets, black leather breeches, with wide, green sus¬ 
penders strapped across the breast. But the pride of 
their hearts is in their boots, which truly are as big as 
it is possible to find on the earth: they reach more than 
a hand’s-length above the knees of their long legs; and 
the men can step in water three feet deep without wetting 
a toe. 

The people of the Black Forest are very hospitable, and 
welcome strangers in a friendly way. If one is sociable 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


73 


with them, there will be very likely some talk of the spirits 
of the pine-woods; of the good little glassman, a foot high, 
who used to show himself — sharp hat, red stockings, and 
all—to their great-great-grandfathers, and make them rich 
in a trice; and also of Dutch Michael, a giant evil spirit, in 
boots three yards long, who tried how much mischief he 
could do. Many and many a story the children have about 
them; but, what is strange, neither the little glassman nor 
Dutch Michael ever show themselves now. 

South of the Black Forest are many rjdges of rather low 
mountains. Still farther east and south the land becomes 
more uneven, until we are altogether in the highlands of 
the Alps, with mountains all around. This is a wild, beau¬ 
tiful country, covered with rich forests, but not unsettled 
as among the Rocky Mountains; for every road winding 
around the steep sides passes some one of the many little 
villages or cottages that are scattered everywhere among 
the Alps. A cheerful village it is like to be, in a valley 
with a stream running through it, and shut in by moun¬ 
tains thickly wooded with beech-trees, maples, and pines. 
Behind these green mountains, much farther off and higher, 
are the jagged tops of a more bare and rocky ridge ; and 
still farther and higher than all rise peaks covered with 
snow. 

Near the stream is the village, the low houses all built 
alike, their roofs covered with planks, kept in place by 
a number of large stones laid upon them. These roofs 
hang far over the gable-ends of the houses, and partly cover 
the little open balconies before the door or windows of the 
second floor; and these balconies are painted some gay 
color,—yellow, blue, or red. In front of every house is a 
bench, where the men sit and smoke pipes when their 


74 


OUR WORLD READER. 


work is done. Somewhere in the village there is sure to 
be a sort of public garden or park, where the people sit in 
fine weather, and drink coffee and beer under the shady 
trees. There is a neat little church, and generally, a little 
way out of the village, one or two grand old stone build¬ 
ings, whose queer turrets or towers, covered with moss 
and ivy, and narrow, arched windows with colored glass, 
are like nothing we see in this country. These belong to 
the great men of the place, and were built years and years 
ago. 

There are many children in the mountain village ; and 
if we should ask the names of two rosy little girls, they 
might answer, “The miller’s Rosel and the carver’s Cres- 
cenz; ” for that is the way they call one another in this 
village of Ammergau. 

And what do you think a carver is ? If you have.ever 
noticed the splinters of a bit of pine, you know that the 
wood is soft and easy to cut, beside being smooth and 
white. Now, people living among pine-woods have a habit 
of cutting bits of the soft wood with their knives, and often 
learn to make beautiful things ; that is, cups, spoons, boxes, 
picture-frames, etc., carved over with birds, leaves, and 
flowers. Quite young boys can carve dolls and toys very 
prettily. Those who can carve best make a business of it 
as they grow up ; and their work is sold from city to city, 
until we even have these things in America. 

Besides the little girls, we may see some tall, good- 
looking young man, who has just come down from the 
higher Alps, where he has been at work. He has on a 
loose gray jacket, bright-green waistcoat, and short, tight- 
fitting breeches, tied at the knees. His legs are covered 
with green and red checkered stockings, and his feet with 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


75 


heavy nailed shoes ; and he has a green felt hat with a 
bunch of black cock-feathers in it. If it is Sunday or 
a holiday, he will have a bunch of gay flowers besides the 
feathers ; and his breeches will be tied at the knees with 
bright-colored ribbons. 

Seppel is a woodman, and has been with a party of men 
a couple of days’ walk up the mountain. They took with 
them strong, sharp axes, and a bag filled with meal, cheese, 
butter and salt, a shirt and pipes. They left the maples 
and chestnuts far behind them; and, once in the midst of 
the gloomy pine-woods, they looked for some mountain- 
torrent, built a rough shed, hung up their bags, and then 
went to work. They chose the tallest, straightest trees; 
their strong arms swung heavily; the blows of the axes 
fell with a clear, ringing sound far and wide; and there 
was soon a pile of logs, that grew bigger and bigger every 
day until the rains came. Then they were thrown into 
the swollen stream, and left to float down to the nearest 
town, where they would be stopped by a dam, and sold for 
building. 

The young woodmen and hunters on the mountains 
often fall in with a party of girls who have gone for a 
summer frolic to keep the cattle sent up to pasture. These 
young girls have rude little cabins to live in during the 
few weeks they are on the high Alp; and, indeed, they 
often have a merry time of it. And such bright, healthy 
girls they are ! It is a pleasure to see them. They wear 
short red or flowered skirts, reaching to the ankle; coarse 
blue stockings ; bodices of black or dark-green stuff, laced 
up in front over a jacket of white, coarse linen, with large, 
full sleeves gathered in below the elbow; and a gay-colored 
handkerchief around the neck. Besides they have a jaunty 


76 


OUR WORLD READER. 


little straw hat, for these village girls, or peasants, never 
wear bonnets. We never see such a dress here : but the 
mountain girls wear it as their grandmothers did before 
them, and as their grandchildren will after them ; for they 
have no change of fashion. 

Besides the woodmen and the girls, there are charcoal- 
burners on the mountains, and chamois-hunters ; and 
these people, who are mostly friends or acquaintances, 
have a pleasant way of cheering from one party to an¬ 
other, with a clear, ringing shout, or long cry. It can be 
heard for miles ; and a hundred echoes come from the 
mountains. 

In this wild but pleasant mountain country we are still 
far from the highest peaks of the Alps. There are danger¬ 
ous paths leading to the snowy tops; and among the 
storms and glaciers, and great masses of falling snow, men 
are often frozen to death. 

Far up on one of the highest mountain paths, there is a 
large building called The Monastery of St. Bernard. 
This is a house for priests or monks, who never marry, 
and dress all alike. These monks of St. Bernard do a 
great deal of good in that dreary, lonely place. They 
have had for years, fine, noble dogs, which are taught to 
go out with the monks in snow-storms to look for any 
persons who may be perishing with cold. 

Travellers often lose their way when the path is covered 
with snow, and are found buried under the drifts. Some¬ 
times they are found quite dead ; but often those who 
cannot move or speak, when carried to the monastery, 
and rubbed before the great fire, revive. 

After once crossing the higher parts, the traveller finds 
the slopes on the southern side of the mountains very 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


77 


beautiful. In the valleys are the loveliest lakes in the 
world, with little boats gliding about on their clear waters; 
gardens and groves of fruit-trees sloping down to the 
shores; beautiful country-houses, called villas , on the 
mountain sides; vineyards and villages in the larger val¬ 
leys ; old gray monasteries far up on higher peaks; and 
here and there, glittering high against the blue sky, the 
white, snow-covered tops. 

Lesson XIV. — Why are there no very long mountain chains in 
Europe ? Where are the Alps ? Why do we hear so much of the 
Alps? What of the mountain-travelling there? What is the highest 
peak? What is said of the Black Forest? What kind of people 
there? Tell all you can of the way they live and dress. What kind 
of country south of the Black Forest? What can you tell of a moun¬ 
tain village among the Alps? What of the wood-caners ? Of the 
woodmen? Tell about the girls. What shall we find higher up, near 
the mountain tops? What is the Monastery of St. Bernard? What 
is found on the other side of the Alps ? 


LESSON XV. 

VOLCANOES. 

Vesuvius. —Volcanoes are scattered here and there in 
the great mountain chains. They are quite numerous in 
the Andes and the southern part of the Rocky Mountains. 
In the south of Europe are two that have done great 
harm. One of these, called yEtna, is on the island of 
Sicily, and formerly had violent eruptions. A very dan¬ 
gerous volcano is Vesuvius, which stands on the shore of 
a lovely bay of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Once upon a time there stood a city at the foot of 
Mount Vesuvius. This city was famous for its beautiful 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


baths; and people from the country around liked to go 
there to rest from business, and enjoy themselves. 

At the end of each street, there was a charming foun¬ 
tain ; and one might sit down by it, and have a delightful 
view of the sea, then as beautiful, as blue, and sunny as it 
is now. 

On fine days, crowds might be seen lounging about in 
gay dresses of purple; while slaves passed up and down 
with splendid vases on their heads, filled with perfumes 
and scented waters. Some persons sat on marble benches, 
with small tables before them covered with wine, fruit, 
and flowers; for, in that pleasant climate, people like to 
be out of doors as much as possible. 

Almost every house in that city was a palace; and 
every palace had a garden, where rich fruit hung from the 
trees, and fountains cooled the air, and made a pleasant 
sound ; while from every shrub peeped out a marble image 
or a vase of flowers. 

The walls were painted with pictures, and the pillars 
were hung round with wreaths of flowers. The seats 
were often bronzed and gilt, covered with rich, soft cush¬ 
ions : and, when the master gave a dinner-party, the 
guests lay down, or leaned among the cushions; and, 
while they drank and ate, slaves filled their golden cups 
with fine wines, or sang and danced before them. 

One day, when such festivities were going on in the 
city, Vesuvius sent up a great smoke; and, in broad noon¬ 
day, darkness black as night came over all. There was a 
frightful din of cries and groans, prayers and curses. The 
brother lost his sister, the husband his wife, the mother 
her child ; for nothing could be seen but the flashes, 
which, every now and then, darted, like ligthning, from 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



79 

the mountain. The earth trembled; the houses shook, 
and began to fall; the sea rolled back from the land; the 
air grew thick with showers of ashes; and then, with a 
tremendous noise, the boiling, hissing, steaming lava 
gushed out. The people fled ; but some were struck down 
on the way. Those who returned a few days after found 
only a smoking plain, sloping to the sea, and covered with 
ashes. Down, down beneath was the lost city. The 
name of this city was Pompeii. 


POMPEII 

Nearly seventeen hundred years after, when its fate was 
almost forgotten, curious persons began to dig upon the 
spot; and, lo! they found the buried city, with all its 
streets and palaces. There were skeletons of men, 
women, and children; and all kinds of jewels, furniture, 
and everything just as it was so many years ago. 





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OUR WORLD READER. 


Another city near by, called Herculaneum, was de¬ 
stroyed at the same time, and buried so deeply beneath 
mud, sand, and ashes from the volcano, that only a little 
of it has been uncovered. 

Lesson XV. — Where are volcanoes mostly found? Where is 
/Etna? Vesuvius? Tell of the city that was'once near Vesuvius. 
What happened there ? What other city was destroyed ? 


LESSON XVI. 

SOME OF THE RIVERS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

You have already learned how useful rivers are; and, if 
you see on a map that a large country has no rivers, you 
may be sure it is bare and desolate, with little growing 
there. 

But still, rivers cannot always make a beautiful country; 
for some flow where it is so cold all the year, that the 
frozen water is of no use, either to make things grow, or 
for boats to sail upon. 

In North America, there are three large rivers. 

ist, One flows north into the Arctic Ocean, called the 
Mackenzie, which is of little use, as it runs through the 
frozen zone. 

2d, The St. Lawrence flows eastward into the Atlantic 
through a pleasant though quite a cold country. It makes 
a water-road from several large lakes to the ocean ; and 
there are some handsome cities on its banks, also many 
small towns. Vessels and steamers go up and down, so 
that people and goods are carried from town to town, and 
are taken in large ships to other countries. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. £ r 

3d, Of the three rivers, the greatest and most useful is 
the Mississippi,—the most useful for three reasons. 
First, because it flows right through the middle of the 
continent, just where the people are farthest from the sea, 
and need the water most. Secondly, because it flows 
from north to south for thousands of miles, through all 
sorts of climate and soils, from the pine-woods at its source 
to the sugar-plantations at its mouth; and by means of it 
the different products can be exchanged. How many 
boats are steaming up and down this great river ! and how 
many different things they carry backward and forward ! — 
lead from the mining regions of the north ; flour, corn, 
pork, and beef from the broad prairies and farming-lands 
of the middle region ; and also mules and horses from the 
fine grazing-lands. Still farther south we see whole boat¬ 
loads of cotton, and, farthest of all, sugar, molasses, and 
fruit, from the warm lands near the mouth of the river, 
besides the goods from abroad that come up in ships from 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

How many things are exchanged by means of this one 
river and its branches ! There are so many large streams 
running into the Mississippi from east and west, that they 
seem almost like giant fingers spreading out over every 
part of the country, and gathering every thing worth pick¬ 
ing up far and near, and drawing it to the great river. 
And this is the third reason why the Mississippi is so use¬ 
ful. Of its branches, the Missouri and Arkansas are the 
longest from the west, and the Ohio from the east. 

Besides these large rivers, there are many smaller ones, 
running from the east sides of the Alleghany Mountains 
to the Atlantic Ocean. These water all the strip of land 
between the mountains and the sea; and many of them 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


have good harbors at their mouths, and large cities on 
their banks. Some of the smaller ones toward the north 
have waterfalls, which are excellent for turning the wheels 
of mills and factories. I wonder if you have ever seen, in 
stores, calico or gingham, marked Merrimac , from the 
mills on that river, where it is made. 

One of the largest of these rivers is the Hudson, in 
New York; a beautiful river, with towns along its banks, 
large, handsome country-houses on the hill-sides, and at 
its mouth the great city of New York. 

You can remember, too, the Connecticut and the Poto 
mac, and find them on the map. 

Lesson XVI. — What rivers are of little use? What three large 
rivers in North America? Where is the Mackenzie? What is said 
of the St. Lawrence? What of the Mississippi? What large rivers 
run into the Mississippi from the west ? What from the east ? Where 
are other smaller rivers ? Why so useful ? Where is the Hudson ? 
Connecticut? Potomac? Merrimac? 


LESSON XVII. 

RIVERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 

There are also three large rivers in South America, 
easily remembered, each flowing through its own particular 
kind of country. You must understand, that, when we 
say such a river waters a country, we mean not only the 
river itself, but all the little streams that form it. 

The most northern of these rivers is the Orinoco, which 
flows through a flat country called the llanos , or plains. 
There are but few trees, and no towns until the land be¬ 
gins to rise in hills, beyond the plains. This flat land is 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


83 


almost like a desert at one time of the year; afterward it 
rains for several months. The grass springs up thick and 
green, making good feeding for large herds of cattle. The 
plainsmen, on their swift horses, dash after these herds 
with their lassos , and catch as many as they can. These 
plainsmen are dark and solemn-looking, with long black 
hair and beards and live almost all the time on horseback. 

You must not forget that this northern part of South 
America is hot, being near the equator; and so just the 
opposite of the northern part of North America. In the 
llanos, then, there is no winter; but the seasons change 
from wet to dry. Half the year it does not rain, and the 
other half it rains every day. There are not, however, 
long, rainy days such as we have here sometimes,—that 
would be dreadful, — but only a good, quick shower each 
day, always at the same time, wetting the ground well, 
and then clearing off as bright as ever. 

Farther south, but still in the torrid zone, is the great 
Amazon, one of the largest rivers in the world, reaching 
quite across the continent from the Andes to the Atlantic 
Ocean. Instead of running from north to south like the 
Mississippi, it runs directly from west to east, all the way 
through the same kind of country ; not rolling and rush¬ 
ing, as might be expected of such a mass of water, but 
creeping slowly, lazily, through the flat country which 
stretches far away on both sides. 

These plains of the Amazon are not covered with grass, 
but with vast forests. In the hot, steaming air, the trees 
£*row so large, that the smallest would seem monsters to 
you. These giant trees stand thick and close, for no axes 
have cleared there. Even the small spaces are filled with 
bushes all twined together, with vines winding in and out. 


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and climbing up the great trunks, making them gay with 
flowers of every color. Many of these are air-plants, liv¬ 
ing on the trees, with their roots hanging in the air. Far 
up, the leaves shut out the sun, and make a strange, dark 
shade. Thousands of bright parrots shriek in the branch¬ 
es, and troops of chattering monkeys pass among the 
leaves with a rush like wind. And every moment there 
is the smooth, slight rustle of the great blue lizards run¬ 
ning up the trees. 

Along the streams, and over the marshes, swarms of 
mosquitoes fill the air, and huge alligators lie lazily in the 
slimy mud. 

So thick and rank and wild are the forests around the 
Amazon! and in the day so still, but for the chattering of 
birds, and crackling of rotten boughs! And withal how 
grand and beautiful, with trees and wonderfully colored 
birds and butterflies and flowers! Here are no houses, 
no towns, and no people, except sometimes an Indian in 
his canoe, gliding in the open parts of the strearq from 
some far-off village of huts. But the night, how terrible ! 
No moonlight gets through the thick branches : it is dark, 
— utterly dark, except for the great fireflies that dart 
sparkling about. The parrots are asleep, and the monkeys 
still; but there are horrible glidings and hissings of ser¬ 
pents trailing around ; and every little while through the 
livelong night come mighty roars of wild beasts howling 
fiercely in the dark,—roars so loud and long, that the 
whole earth seems to shake with the sound. 

These Amazon woods are called selvas; and people 
from Europe and America have gone sometimes to see if 
settlements could be made ; for there are many dye-woods, 
gums, and other valuable things there, besides the rich 


FIRST LESSORS TN GEOGRAPHY. 


85 


ground, which could be cultivated if some of the trees 
were cut down. But that is no easy task. The climate 
is very unhealthy, and the horrible snakes and insects are 
very troublesome ; so that while steamboats are puffing, 
mill-wheels are whirling, and bridges building, on other 
rivers, the beasts have it all to themselves around the 
Amazon. 

The only other very large river in South America is the 
La Plata, which is farther south than the Amazon, in the 
south temperate zone, where the weather is something like 
our own, though still not so cold the winter. West of the 
La Plata are plains called pampas , that reach to the moun¬ 
tains. They are covered with clover and thistles. Early 
in the season, it is beautiful to see the herds of fine cattle 
feeding on the fresh clover and grass ; but, later, the whole 
plain is a forest of thistles, — high enough to hide a man. 

On the other side of the river, the country is hilly and 
pleasant, and there are several large cities. 

Lesson XVII. — How many large rivers in South America? 
Where is the Orinoco ? What can you say of the llanos ? Where 
is the Amazon? What about the forests of the Amazon? What 
are they called? Why is it difficult to settle there? Where is the 
La Plata? What are the pampas? Into what ocean do the rivers 
of South America run? Why do no rivers flow west into the 
Pacific ? 


LESSON XVIII. 

SOME OF THE RIVERS OF EUROPE. 

As the mountains in Europe are in short ridges, the 
rivers are also short, and flow in different directions. But 
there is one long river in the east, called the Volga ; and 


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another is the Danube, that you will find beginning among 
the Alps, and running east into the Black Sea. 

The Rhine, in the west of Europe, is one of the most 
beautiful rivers in the world ; and the people who live near 
it love it dearly. It runs mostly through a mountainous 
country, beautiful and thickly settled. All along the 
banks are pretty villages; and every little while a great 
city spreads out in a wider valley, with many queer-looking 
old church-steeples rising between the hill-tops. Between 
and around the villages, the hill sides and slopes near the 
river are covered with vineyards fresh and green. These 
vineyards are fields of grape-vines, planted in rows, and 
carefully twined on short poles. 

Often travellers sailing up the Rhine in the right 
season may see the country people, in their bright, gay 
dresses, gathering the grapes. 

But the strangest sight on the Rhine, to us, would be 
certain great, gray piles of stone buildings, called castles , 
on the tops of the steep, high peaks, rising from the banks 
of the river, or at some distance from it. Some of these 
castles were built hundreds of years ago, in dangerous, 
fighting times, when those who were strongest took care 
of themselves, and built strong places to live in. They 
chose some high, rough spot where it would be hard for 
enemies to reach them. 

So the old castles were made with strong, high walls, 
narrow windows, heavy, iron doors, court-yards for men 
and horses, places for guns, and loop-holes to peep through. 
There was no end of the long passages, narrow stairways, 
great halls, and high chambers to hold the ladies safely. 
There were deep, dark cellars, sometimes for wine and 
beer, sometimes for prisons. For many of these castles 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


87 


were dens of robbers. On the Rhine, where the banks 
are high and the stream is narrow, castles are more fre¬ 
quent, for as the boats c^ame down from the rich vineyards, 
the robber-knights made them pay, or they would find it 



hard to go by. When a stream flowed into the Rhine, 
there was pretty sure to be a castle, for there would be a 
double chance to rob. 

All that kind of living is over now; and many of the 
castles are only old, gray ruins, overgrown with moss and 
vines, looking grim and dark and silent, far up above the 
green vineyards and pleasant villages. 

Many boats sail up and down the Rhine; and people 









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from other countries often like a summer sail upon its 
waters. 

Not very far from the Rhine is the River Elbe, running 
north-west into the North Sea, with a slow current, 
through a rather flat country. 

In England there is a river called the Thames, that you 
will often hear of; not because it is a great river, for it is 
not very long, compared with the rivers of America. 
Though it runs through a pleasant country, dotted with 
towns and country-houses, with pretty lawns sloping, to 
the water, the Thames is not so beautiful as some other 
rivers ; but it is in one of the best known countries in the 
world, and the great city of London is on its banks. 

Lesson XVIII. — Why are the rivers in Europe shorter than 
those in America? Which are the longest? What is said of the 
Rhine ? What are castles ? Why are no castles built now ? 
Where is the Elbe ? What river in England ? What is said of the 
Thames ? 


LESSON XIX. 

RIVERS OF AFRICA. 

The Nile. — Look now in the north-east part of Africa, 
and there, in a country called Egypt, you will find a river 
running north into the Mediterranean Sea. This is the 
Nile; and it is one of the most remarkable rivers in the 
world. You will often read of it because of a great people 
who lived near it long ago; because of large, splendid 
cities that were once on its banks; because of more than 
one terrible battle fought there; and, most of all, because 
it is a very strange river. For a great while, nobody knew 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


89 


where it came from; and its true source was found only 
very lately, in a great lake far away among the high moun¬ 
tains at the south. 

The Nile flows through a long, narrow valley, and there 
is little rain all the year round, yet the land is rich and 
green, and the crops of grain never fail. Often, indeed, 
when there has been a scarcity in the neighboring coun¬ 
tries, people have sent for grain to the banks of the Nile. 

But grain cannot grow without water ; and the land 
would be dry and bare, like the Great Desert near, if it 
were not for what happens to the Nile every year. 

Though it does not rain very often in the valley of 
Egypt, it rains hard far to the south, where the little 
streams begin that make the Nile. There, among some 
high mountains, the rain pours, and the water rushes down 
in torrents, swollen by the melting snows from the high 
peaks. So in the rainy season the water from all the little 
mountain streams is forced into the Nile; making it rise 
along its whole length, even for hundreds of miles beyond 
where rain falls. Higher and higher it rises, until the 
water flows over the banks on both sides, covering the 
fields far and wide. After some days, the water sinks 
again, and leaves the earth, for miles on each side of the 
river, nothing but soft mud. Then the farmers come 
out with great rejoicing, making a festival of planting their 
grain, which they can do without the trouble of ploughing ; 
for they have only to scatter it on the soft mud, where it 
covers itself and keeps wet for some time. In such a hot 
climate, it soon sprouts; and, in a short time, the harvest 
is ready to be gathered. 

The people make many canals across the country, by 
which they carry the water to a great distance from the 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


river, and manage so as to give it to the fields as 
they need it. In this way they raise, in some places, three 
crops a year. 

In the slimy mud, on the edge of the river, creep huge, 
horrible-looking creatures, called crocodiles. They are like 



CROCODILE. 


giant lizards, with their great feet, scaly backs, and 
long rows of big teeth in a monstrous mouth, that can 
easily take in a man. You may think how people dislike 
and fear them. 

There is another large animal often seen standing in 
the shallow parts of the Nile ; not so horrible and danger¬ 
ous as the crocodile, but ugly enough. It is called hippo¬ 
potamus, — a long, hard name, which only means river- 
horse. 

There is a large river in the west of Africa, called the 
Niger, which flows into the Atlantic, and the Zambesi, on 








FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


9 1 

the other side, runs into the Indian Ocean. But it is by 
the Congo on the west that men will doubtless find the 
best way into the middle of Africa. A few years ago, Mr. 
Stanley, from America, with a little band of natives, put 
his boat into a river near the long, narrow Lake Tangan¬ 
yika which you will find on your map. He sailed down 
this river as far north as the equator, and there came to 
some falls. These he called Stanley Falls. Here they 
carried the boat round the falls, put it into the water again 
and kept on their way. They sailed and sailed for a 
thousand miles, when they came to a wide, deep pool, and 
below the pool they heard the roar of cataracts. This 
wide water was called Stanley Pool. Here they took up 
the boat again and had a hard time going round these 
cataracts by the bank of the river till they came to smooth 
water, launched the little boat again, and came gladly 
before long to houses of men and the mouth of the Congo. 
No one had before known much about this river. And we 
now see that if there can be two pieces of railroad built 
around these cataracts and steamboats placed in the deep, 
wide river, and on the great lakes, it will no longer be very 
difficult to reach the middle of Africa. Already there 
are steamboats on Stanley Pool and on the Lakes. 

Lesson XIX. — What large river in Egypt? Why should it be 
remembered? What kind of a country does the Nile flow through? 
What happens to the Nile every year? How is grain planted? 
Why are canals made? What animals live in the Nile? What 
other large river in Africa ? What is said of the Congo ? 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XX. 

RIVERS IN ASIA. 

There are three large rivers in the northern part of 
Asia, — the Lena, Yenisei, and Obe; but as these all flow 
into the Arctic Ocean, through a cold, dreary country, 
they are of little use. 

There are also three rivers flowing east into the Pacific, 
— the Amoor, Yang-tse-Kiang, and Hoang Ho. Very 
queer names, you will say; and it is a queer country they 
run through, crowded with queer people. You will hear 
more of them by and by. 

Running into the bays of the Indian Ocean are several 
other large rivers, some of them rushing down from the 
Himalaya Mountains at a furious rate. Of these the 
Ganges is the largest. 

In the south-western part of Asia, there are two rivers 
that you will often read of,—the Tigris and Euphrates. 
There are not only cities now on their banks, with cara¬ 
vans passing to and fro, but on the plains around are ruins 
of old cities built long, long ago. 

Lesson 2£X. — What three rivers in the north of Asia ? What 
ones run east into the Pacific? What other rivers in Asia? 


LESSON XXL 

GRAND DIVISIONS DESCRIBED. 

North America. — The broadest part of North Ameri¬ 
ca lies about the Northern Ocean, and it narrows down 
almost to a point toward the equator; so that most of the 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


93 

countries are either very cold or mild and pleasant. Only 
a small part is in the hot zone. 

The Rocky Mountains run from north to south through 
the western part; and, in the east, there are lower, small¬ 
er mountains, called Alleghanies. 

Rivers. —The Mackenzie River, and other smaller ones, 
flow toward the north into the Arctic waters. 

The St. Lawrence, Hudson, and several other quite 
large rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Mississippi, with its large branches, runs south into 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Columbia, and some smaller rivers, run west into 
the Pacific Ocean. 

Several of the largest lakes in the world are in North 
America,—Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, 
Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and, farther north, Great Slave 
and Great Bear Lakes. 

Most of the northern part of North America belongs to 
the English, and is called British America. Alaska, in 
the north-west corner, settled by the Russians, has lately 
been bought by the United States. Greenland, on the 
north-east, belongs to the Danes. These countries are 
very cold, and many parts are covered with snow. The 
middle part of the continent is our own, containing the 
United States and Territories, and is the most pleasant 
part. Mexico is in the southern part and reaches down into 
the hot zone. 

South America. — The coast of South America is not 
cut into by the water, like that of North America; and 
there are no large bays. 

The larger part of South America lies about the equa¬ 
tor: therefore most of the countries are hot, and always 


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OUR WORLD READER. 


green. The southern point reaches to the Southern 
Ocean, and is cold and dreary. Vessels passing round 
this point are sometimes dashed to pieces in the storms 
and by blocks of floating ice. 

The high, long chain of the Andes Mountains runs 
along the west coast; and in the east there are some 
short, low chains, called the Brazilian Mountains. 

There are three large rivers in South America, running 
through great, flat plains. 

The Orinoco is in the north, and winds about, through 
its broad, grassy plains, into the Atlantic. 

The Amazon is one of the largest rivers in the world, 
and flows from the Andes, through many hundred miles 
of forest land, into the Atlantic. 

The La Plata is farther south, and also runs into the 
Atlantic. 

South America was found by the Spaniards. People 
from Spain and Portugal came over long ago, and settled 
in different places. At first, they formed colonies ; but, 
after a while, these became independent countries, or 
states. The people still speak Spanish or Portuguese, just 
as we speak the same language that our great-great-grand¬ 
fathers brought from England to North America. 

The largest cities are Rio Janeiro and Buenos Ayres 
on the east coast, Lima near the Pacific, Valparaiso on 
the west coast; and among the mountains, Bogota, Cara¬ 
cas, and Quito. 

Lesson XXI. — Where is the largest mountain range in America? 
What mountains ? What rivers ? What lakes ? What countries ? 
Give the whole account of North America. How is South America 
bounded ? What bays and gulfs ? Where is the broadest part of 
South America ? What mountains ? What rivers ? How was South 


FIX ST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

America settled ? What are the largest cities ? Give the whole 
account of South America. 


LESSON XXII. 

GRAND DIVISIONS DESCRIBED. 

The chains of mountains in Europe cannot be so long 
as those of America; but there are more of them. The 
Ural Mountains are between Russia and Asia, the Apen¬ 
nines run through Italy, the Pyrenees are between France 
and Spain, and the Alps — the highest of all the moun¬ 
tains— run through the southern part of the continent. 

The Volga and some other large rivers flow through 
Russia. The beautiful river Rhine and the Elbe run 
north-west into the North Sea. The great city of Paris is' 
on the River Seine, in France. The River Rhone is also 
in France and the Thames in England. The Danube 
runs east, through the south of Europe, into the Black 
Sea. 

There are many beautiful lakes among the mountains; 
but they are quite small. 

Europe is the smallest grand division. None of it is in 
the hot zone; but the greater part is warm enough to be 
very pleasant. 

The eastern half is taken up by Russia. The other 
principal countries are Turkey, Austria, Germany, Switzer¬ 
land, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Norway, 
and Sweden. England, Scotland, and Ireland are always 
considered as countries of Europe, though really they are 
islands off the west coast. 


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OOT WORLD READER. 


London and Paris are the greatest cities of the world. 
Rome is famous for its paintings and statues, and for the 
ruins of splendid buildings of old times. Naples is a city 
of Italy, near the volcano Vesuvius; and Venice, in the 
northern part, is built on little islands in the water. Mar¬ 
seilles is in France, on the Mediterranean coast. Madrid 
is the capital of Spain, Edinburg is the capital of Scotland, 
and Dublin of Ireland. St. Petersburg is in the northern 
part of Russia, and Moscow is farther south. 

There are jfour great mountain chains in Asia, running 
across from east to west. The highest and most southern 
chain is the Himalaya. The Altai Mountains are farthest 
north. Besides these, there are some short chains in the 
south-west; and the Ural Mountains run between Asia 
and Europe. (See map following page 161.) 

Three large rivers, the Lena, Obe, and Yenisei, flow 
north through the great plain of Siberia. The Yang-tse- 
Kiang and Hoang-Ho flow eastward, through China, into 
the Pacific Ocean; and running southward into the Indian 
Ocean are the Ganges, Indus, Tigris, and Euphrates. 

All the northern part of Asia is a great plain, divided 
from the European plain by the Ural Mountains. It be¬ 
longs to the Russians, and is sometimes called Russia in 
Asia, instead of Siberia. The middle part of Asia is a 
large desert of sand, shut in by mountains, where tribes of 
wandering Tartars live. China is in the eastern part; 
and Hindostan, or India, is south of the Himalaya Moun¬ 
tains. England governs India; and there is a great deal 
of trade between the two countries. Arabia is a large 
peninsula in the south-west corner of Asia, where it joins 
Africa. 

Palestine, or the Holy Land, lies along the east coast 


FIRST LESSON’S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


97 

of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Arabia; and all through 
that part of Asia are places spoken of in the Bible. 

The city of Jerusalem is there; and farther east, in 
Turkey, is the beautiful city of Damascus. Mecca is in 
Arabia. Calcutta is a large city in India. Peking and 
Canton are Chinese cities. 

The northern part of Africa belongs to Arabs, or Moors. 
Egypt, one of the oldest countries in the world, is in the 
north-east. The Negro tribes live along the east and west 
coasts ; and the southern point belongs to the English. 

The interior of Africa is not very well known. There 
is an immense desert towards the north ; and travellers 
every little while tell something about new forests, lakes, 
rivers, and tribes of negroes. 

There are two or three large rivers. The Nile runs 
through the north-eastern pa^t of Africa into the Mediter¬ 
ranean. The Niger and the Congo flow into the Atlantic; 
and the Zambesi into the Indian Ocean. 

Lesson XXII. —What mountains in Europe? What rivers? 
What countries ? What are the largest cities ? What mountains in 
Asia? What rivers? What of the different countries? Where are 
some of the cities? What mountains in Africa? What rivers? 
What is said of Africa? Give the whole account of Europe. Of 
Asia ? Of Africa ? 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































TALKS ON THE MAPS. 

IV. The World. 

In this map the clotted shading represents low lands. Now where 
are the high table-lands of Africa ? Here it is that most of the 
rivers of Africa rise, as you see. Just so is it in Asia. In North 
America high land separates the rivers that run north from the 
sources of the Mississippi. Where is the great plain of Eurasia? In 
North America see the curved lines crossing this map. These 
lines show how far north and south grains will grow. There is about 
the same degree of heat and cold along their whole length. By this 
you will see that we cannot always tell just how hot a country is by its 
distance from the equator. Many other things bring about heat and 
cold. Some day you will learn what they are. You will like to make 
some voyages and journeys on this map. See if you can call all the 
countries, mountains, and rivers by name, without looking on the 
other maps. 


98 


OUR WORLD READER. 


PART THIRD. 


LESSON I. 

COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. 

Vou know that in all these different lands on the sur¬ 
face of the earth there live many millions of people. 
These people must find food for themselves, and clothes, 
and often comforts and pleasures ; but, if you will think a 
moment, you will see that they cannot all have the same 
kind of clothes and food; each one will need what is 
suitable for him in his own home. What kind of clothes 
should you think were needed in the frozen lands near the 
north pole? Warm clothes, you say. True; and the 
very best thing for keeping one warm is fur. You often see 
ladies wear fur tippets and muffs here in the winter. God 
has ordered every thing rightly; so that the animals in 
such lands have fur-covered skins, some strong and coarse, 
others soft and fine. And of these skins the people make 
coats, caps, and boots, to keep their bodies from the biting 
frost. But, in hot countries, such clothes would be very 
uncomfortable; and there men soon learn to make some¬ 
thing light and thin to wear. 

It is just so with food. Where the weather is cold, the 
blood must be heated by eating strong food; and those 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


99 


people who wear furs live altogether on meat, eating quan¬ 
tities of fat from whales, seals, and other animals that live 
there. But, if persons in hot climates eat much meat, 
they soon sicken and die. God has given them grain, 
vegetables, and fruits to live upon : and the hotter the 
country, the more cool juicy fruits there are; so that the 
very poorest people may have them. 

In different lands, there is also different work for men 
to do; and they have very different habits and ways of 
living. Very far north, in the cold, they pass their days 
in hunting such animals as are needed constantly both for 
food and clothes. Each man must have skin coats, boots, 
caps, and beds for himself, his wife, and his children ; for 
they all dress much alike. And he must also get plenty 
of meat for them to eat, and oil to burn in their lamps. 
Men who are born near the sea will be apt to fish, or to 
sail over the waters trading. These love the great blue 
ocean. People among the mountains will keep goats and 
sheep for their wool; or will be miners, and dig for iron, 
lead, gold or coal. Those in rich, level lands plant grain 
to make flour or meal for themselves and others. Cotton 
and flax grow in some countries, and are sold to make 
cloth for thousands of people. Everywhere men must do 
something to live ; and what they do will depend a good 
deal, you see, on the country they happen to live in. 
And they all help each other by exchanging the things 
found in the different parts of the earth. 

There is another reason why people are very different: 
it is that some have learned more than others. Savages, 
or ignorant people, who have no books, churches, schools, 
factories, music, or pictures, care for nothing but eating, 
hunting or fighting, and only know how to make a few 


IOO 


OUR WORLD READER. 


clothes of skins, or plain, coarse cloth. But men often go 
on learning more and more, finding out one thing after 
another, until they can build large, fine houses of brick or 
stone, instead of little huts, to live in. The cotton spin¬ 
ners improve constantly, until we have fine muslins and 
pretty calicoes, instead of coarse, plain cloth. Thousands 
of beautiful as well as useful things are made; and chil¬ 
dren are taught to read, sing, and dance. All this learning 
is called civilization , and such people are said to be civil¬ 
ized ; but, if they know nothing of all these things, they 
are savage or barbarous. 

All the people living together, speaking the same lan¬ 
guage, and having the same habits, make up what we call 
a nation. The part of the world that belongs to any one 
nation is called its country and no other people has a right 
to it. Every country and nation has its own name, and 
you will find a number of countries in each of the great 
continents. Some of these countries, or states, are large 
and powerful; others are very small. 

Lesson I. — What must people find for themselves? Why do 
people have different food and clothes ? What kinds are proper for 
cold places ? For hot places ? How does the work differ in different 
lands ? What is the difference between civilized people and savages ? 
What is a nation? A country ? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


IOI 


LESSON II. 

GOVERNMENT. 

What happens when a man in this town, or in any 
other town, steals, or kills people, or does any bad thing? 
He is put in jail, you say. Yes; but whose business is it 
to see that he is caught and punished ? If each of us tried 
to punish every one who troubles us, there would be 
nothing but quarrelling all the time, and the strongest 
would have their way against the weakest. 

People found out long ago that they could not live hap¬ 
pily, or work quietly, or improve in any way, except by 
joining together and protecting one another, agreeing to 
obey certain rules or laws good for all. But there must be 
persons to find out what laws are good for all, and to see 
that no man breaks them. So, while merchants are 
buying and selling, and doctors visiting the sick, and car¬ 
penters building houses, some men are chosen to take care 
that no one shall be disturbed, and to find out the best 
ways of making the country rich and pleasant to live in. 
This is called governing a country or nation; and each 
nation has its own way of governing. In some, such as 
our own, the highest ruler is called a president , and is 
chosen by the people. Some countries are ruled by kings 
and queens , who are not chosen by the people. The same 
man is king as long as he lives; and after him his son 
must be the next king, whether he is liked or not. For 
this reason it has often happened that the rulers of a nation, 
instead of being wise, good men, as they should be, have 
been bad or silly, and so have made their people poor and 
unhappy. In old times, kings were more powerful than 
they are now; but people have learned better, and do not 
give them so much power. 


102 


OUR WORLD READER. 


There is still one part of the world where the kings, 
who are called sultans or caliphs , can have pretty much 
their own way. In some wild, uncivilized countries, the 
different tribes have chiefs , who lead them in fighting, 
which is their chief occupation. 

Besides these great rulers of nations, there are many 
others who help the kings or presidents,—judges, gov¬ 
ernors, and other officers. 

Lesson II.— Why must all nations have a government ? What 
is the ruler of our country called ? What names have rulers in other 
countries ? Tell what you can of them. 


LESSON III. 

ABOUT GREECE. 

Long, long ago, when there were no white men in 
America, no towns, no roads, only the wild Indians hunt¬ 
ing deer and buffalo, and when people in the Old World 
had no idea that there was another continent on the other 
side of the world, there were two nations in the south of 
Europe who already had palaces, fine temples, roads, and 
cities, and lived in great power and splendor. These 
people were the Greeks and Romans; and you may find 
their countries in the south of Europe, almost surrounded 
by the Mediterranean Sea. The home of the Greeks was 
Greece, and never was there a more beautiful home. The 
whole country is cut up by small ridges of mountains or 
hills. Charming valleys lie between, watered by many 
little rivers, and shaded with groves of dark, old olive 
trees, which bear the little fruit that makes sweet oil. 

This was before Christ was born on the earth; and these 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


103 


old-time Greeks were not Christians, but worshipped a 
great many different gods and goddesses. They built 
temples for these gods, and made statues, that is, human 
forms, out of marble, to represent them. These gods are 
most commmonly known by their Roman names. The 
greatest of all was named fiipiter ; and there were many 
statues and temples for him all over the land. Neptune 
was the god of the sea; and, when men were going to sea, 
they offered a sacrifice, and made gifts to him, that they 
might have a safe voyage. There was a god of war called 
Mars , and soldiers prayed to him before a battle. If they 
conquered their enemies, they often brought rich gifts 
of gold cups or vases, and other things, for the temple. 
Even poor people offered such gifts as they could; for 
they imagined that this was goodness, and many of 
them really believed that the gods could enjoy the 
presents. But I rather think the priests, or people 
who took care of the temples, had the gifts ; since we 
know there were really no such gods. Vulcan was the god 
of fire : and this is why burning mountains were called 
volcanoes. The people thought he made swords and 
armor for the gods. 

It was a strange idea of the Greeks, that their gods 
loved, hated, married, and fought just like human beings. 
Even this sort of worship made them less rude than many 
nations around them. They loved beautiful things, such 
as pictures, statues, fine buildings, etc., more than the sur¬ 
rounding nations. A few of their statues have been kept 
and admired ever since, for they are the most beautiful 
that have ever been seen. 

The Greeks often had public games or races in honor of 
some god, when people came from every part of the land 


104 


OUR WORLD READER. 


to the sacred groves; and there the most active young 
men ran races on foot, or in chariots drawn by four or six 
horses. Those who won were crowned with wreaths of 
myrtle leaves, and verses were sung in their praise. The 
chief of these were called the Olympic games, held in 
honor of their great Jupiter. They were held at Olympia, 
in the western part of Greece. Here, hundreds of years 
ago, was a beautiful temple, in ruins. Not long since, 
people away in Germany, who had read about this temple 
and its fine statues, wanted to dig down to see if there 
were any of those statues buried in the earth. They , 
found remains of the temple, and statues of wonderful 
beauty. The Greeks are no longer willing to have the 
beautiful things of their fine old time carried away, but 
they let people make casts or copies of them in plaster, 
which look quite like the real marble statues. These are 
sent to all the most civilized countries. You will some¬ 
time read the stories about these brave, beauty-loving, 
song-making Greeks of the old times. 

They were very particular about their children. Sons 
were brought up strictly; taught to be brave, and to love 
their country more than life. They were made to practise 
running, boxing, and leaping, that their limbs might grow 
strong and active. But the best of all was the great re¬ 
spect they were taught to feel for their parents and aged 
persons. Young lads were allowed to sit in company with 
old men, to hear wise words, and to learn to rule the 
country; but they never thought of speaking, or getting 
in the way. Often the wise men taught in the streets; 
and some of those lessons have been kept safely ever 
since, so that now our own boys learn them. 

But what has become of these Greeks ? There is the 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


105 


country, with the same hills, the same blue sky and sea, 
the same olive groves, and the same mild, pleasant air, 
but not the same people. People still live there, and they 
are called Greeks; but we hear little of them. The fine, 
brave men of old times began at last to quarrel among 
themselves ; and then they were conquered, their beauti¬ 
ful temples were destroyed, and many of their statues 
were carried off; and now their glory and power are gone. 



ATHENS AND ITS TEMPLES. 


You must find Athens on the map ; for that was their 
great city, and strangers visit it to see the parts of fine 
buildings still standing. 

You see that Greece is almost cut into two parts by the 
sea running up into the land. Just on this narrow neck 
of land is another large city, once rich and gay. This is 
Corinth; and you will remember it, for there are two 
letters in our New Testament, which St. Paul wrote to 
the Corinthians after he had been there, and persuaded 
some of them to be Christians. 

















io 6 


OUR WORLD READER. 


As the Greeks had so small a country, they often went 
away in companies, as the English have done since, and 
made new towns for themselves all along the coast of the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

Lesson IV. — Who were the old Greeks and Romans ? What is 
said of Greece? What was the religion of the Greeks? Mention 
some of their gods. What games had they ? What has been done 
at Olympia in our time ? What is said of their children ? What of 
Greece in our time? Where is Athens ? What do you know about 
Corinth ? Where did the Greeks build other cities ? 


LESSON IV. 

ABOUT ITALY. 

West of Greece is a long, narrow country, somewhat in 
the shape of a boot, which is called Italy. On the west 
coast of this Italy is the city of Rome; and there lived the 
Romans, who spoke the Latin language, that is still taught 
in our schools. 

This city was begun so very long ago, that it is not easy 
to get the exact history of it; and you will read all manner 
of stories about it, quite as wonderful as fairy tales. Cer¬ 
tain it is, that this was the home of bold, strong men, who 
thought fighting the thing best worth doing; and so they 
went on making slaves of their neighbors, and taking 
towns, until they got pretty much all the land that lies 
around the Mediterranean Sea and much more besides. As 
this was most of the earth then known, Rome was called 
the mistress of the world; and the Romans became proud 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


107 


boasters, thinking everything and everybody were made for 
their use. All this time they had not cared so much for 
beautiful things as the Greeks, and thought most about 
war. Many kings of small tribes paid them large sums of 
money every year; and thousands of men and women of 
different nations were slaves to them. 

At last when they became so rich and powerful, living 
luxuriously, and wearing fine clothes, they did not fight so 
well; and the young nobles, instead of loving their country 
as their grandfathers had done, thought only of getting gold 
to spend, and of abusing the people. 

The emperors who ruled the people could not rule them¬ 
selves, and were often very bad men. Some of these em¬ 
perors were so cruel and wicked, that they were more like 
wild beasts than men, and sometimes killed their brothers, 
friends, or even parents. 

The people at last got tired of such doings; and the sol¬ 
diers began to take things into their own hands, and appoint 
the rulers. 

At last, the conquered nations, finding out that the ter¬ 
rible Romans did not fight so well as formerly, refused to 
pay more money, and took back many of their towns. And, 
worse than all, down rushed whole nations of rude, bold 
savages from the north of Europe and Asia. They over¬ 
ran Italy, destroying its cities, with their palaces, libraries 
and books ; and now the Latin language is not spoken. 
But it took very many years for all this to happen; and 
in that time there were many wise and good Romans,— 
brave generals, good teachers, doctors, and writers. Many 
of their books have been kept, and are still read. 

The Romans had many of the same gods as the Greeks, 
with temples, statues, and festivals. 


OUR WORLD READER . 


io8 

The people in Italy are now called Italians, and speak 
another language. They are not so powerful as the old 
Romans were. 



AN ITALIAN LAKE. 


Travellers like to visit Italy to see the ruins of the old 
palaces and temples that are still standing; and many of 
the finest statues and pictures in the world are in Italy, for 
the Italians were great painters and sculptors. There are 
other reasons why people from distant lands like to go to 
Italy. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the 
world. The weather is mild and pleasant. In the north 
there are charming valleys with lakes, and lovely little 







FIRST LESSON'S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


IO9 



streams. Along the hillsides, among the lakes and woods, 
are handsome country houses 
and gardens, besides pretty vil¬ 
lages, and old, gray castles and 
towns with walls far up on the 
cliffs. 

There are many large, beau¬ 
tiful cities. One of these is 
Florence ; and on the west coast 
you will find a city called 
Naples, built on one 
of the most beauti¬ 
ful bays in the world. 
Just in sight of Na¬ 
ples is the volcano 
of Vesuvius, whose 
eruptions have 
often destroyed 
towns and farms 
around. It is al¬ 
most always smok¬ 
ing, and often 
throws out ashes 
and stones. You 
will remember we 
have already 
s p ok e n of two 
cities which were 
covered up by ashes or streams of burning lava from this 
volcano, in the time of the old Romans. 

In the northern part of Italy is a strange city called Venice, 
built in the midst of water, on many little islands. A great 







110 


OUR WORLD READER. 


many of the streets are of water; and, instead of carriages, 
people use little boats, called gondolas. It would seem 
strange to us to sail up and down these water-streets ; and 
very charming, on a moonlight night, to be gliding smoothly 
along while the boatmen sing as they row. 

Lesson IV. — Where is Italy? What is said of Rome? What kind 
of people were the old Romans ? What of some of their emperors ? 
What happened to the Romans at last ? What of their books and 
religion ? What are the people of Italy now called ? What is said of 
them ? Why do travellers like to visit Italy ? Where is Florence ? 
Naples? Venice? Vesuvius? 


LESSON V. 

ABOUT FRANCE. 

North-west of Italy is a large, fine country, that you 
often hear of: for it belongs to the French people, and we 
have a great deal of commerce with them. Our boys and 
girls study French in school, learning a few words of the 
language that comes so naturally to the children in France. 

We visit them, read their books, follow their fashions, 
and trade with them. You would never guess how many 
things that you' see almost every day have been brought 
across the ocean from this far-off France. 

Do you not often see in the shops muslins, chintz, wool¬ 
lens and silks, covered with bunches of tiny, gay-colored 
flowers, or charming little vines, or graceful leaves ? It is 
almost certain that the prettiest and finest were made in 
France; for the people there seem to have such beautiful 
fancies, and know how to match colors so nicely, that ladies 
like their articles best. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


111 

There will probably be in the same stores long rows of 
flat, paper boxes full of beautiful embroideries, generally 
called “ French work.” While the French factories are 
making yards of muslins and chintz, hundreds of poor 
French women, in the narrow, dirty streets of large towns, 
are busy working beautiful vines and clusters of flowers on 
fine cambric. 

In another row of boxes, there are, perhaps, soft kid 
gloves and handsome fans. French gloves and French 
fans are liked the best everywhere. Most of our silks and 
much of our elegant jewelry come from France. Besides 
all these things, our finest wines, perfumes, and articles 
of the toilet, are made there. 

On far the greater part of French goods is found the 
name “Paris,” which is the great city of France. And a 
great city it is; one of the largest and best known in the 
world. There are so many streets, so crowded, and so long, 
that you could never walk through half of them. There are 
grand old churches, public gardens with flowers and foun¬ 
tains where people walk or ride, large halls where beautiful 
pictures are hung, and museums where all sorts of fine and 
rare things are kept. There is also a place called the 
“ Garden of Plants,” where they have gathered beautiful 
trees and flowers and strange animals from all parts of the 
world. There is a very large cage like a house for the 
monkeys, and the children like to watch their funny ways. 

The houses in Paris are, of course, built several stories 
high ; and it is the custom for three or four families to live 
in one house. Often on the ground-floor there are shops ; 
on the next floor live the wealthy gentlemen ; above these, 
the families of merchants, tradespeople, etc.; and in the 
garrets, workmen and poor sewing-women. The great 


12 


OUR WORLD READER. 


staircase going from the bottom to the top of the house is 
like a street, all the different lodgers having to pass up 
and down. 

You will find Paris on the River Seine, and then you 
may look for Bordeaux on the western coast. It is from 
Bordeaux that claret and boxes of prunes are sent. 

Marseilles is the chief seaport on the Mediterranean. 

The greater part of France is rich and beautiful, with 
hills and pretty valleys, small rivers watering the land, and 
handsome cities and villages scattered over all the country. 

It is pleasant to see the vineyards on the sunny slopes, 
with the ripe grapes hanging in clusters on every vine. 
The grape-vines are not spread out as we see them in 
gardens here ; but whole fields are planted in rows ; and 
the vines are twined around poles stuck in the ground a 
little distance apart, so that the grapes may turn to the 
sun and be easily gathered. At a certain time of the year, 
when the grapes are ripe, all the country people turn out, 
— men, women, and children, — and have a great merry¬ 
making, gathering the grapes to make wine. This is 
called the vintage; and you may be sure the young people 
look forward to it with longing hearts, as well they may, 
for indeed we should enjoy the fun ourselves. Early in 
the morning, people are seen hurrying from farms and 
villages with large baskets; young girls meet together, 
laughing and chatting as they go; old men lean on their 
sticks, and hobble out to see the sport; and children run 
about dancing and shouting. The short, bright-colored 
skirts and jaunty little hats of the girls look gay among 
the vines; and every face is smiling. The grapes are 
gathered in baskets, and emptied into great heavy wagons, 
that go rolling along the roads, piled up with rich purple 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


113 

bunches, until they reach the place where they are to be 
crushed. There the great, quivering, dripping load is 
toppled over into a huge tub, or trough; the juice is 
pressed out of the grapes to make wine. 

France has long been one of the important nations of 
the world, and you will hereafter learn much that is inter¬ 
esting of its history. 

Lesson V. — What country north-west of Italy? What have we 
to do with France? What is its great city? What is said of it? 
Of its houses? Where is Bordeaux? What comes from there? 
Where is Marseilles? What is said of the vineyards? Tell about 
the vintage. How is wine made? 


LESSON VI. 

SPAIN. 

You s6e on the map a narrow passage of water separa¬ 
ting the south-west corner of Europe from Africa. This 
is the Strait of Gibraltar; and on both coasts rise huge 
cliffs of rock, making a great gate, through which vessels 
sail from the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea. 

Long ago, some of the Moors, or people in the north of 
Africa, crossed this strait to look for a new home. They 
did not have to go far; for, just where they landed on the 
coast of Europe, they found a beautiful valley, with hills, 
plains, groves of trees, and an abundance of little streams 
running into one of the prettiest rivers in the world. The 
climate was mild, never too hot nor too cold, and suited for 
oranges, olives, and many other fruits. 

Here they settled in the southern part of the country 
which we now call Spain. You will like to learn about 


OUR WORLD READER. 


114 

these Moors one of these days, —how they were the very 
people to enjoy beautiful things of all kinds, and went to 
work to make that pleasant country still more beautiful. 
Soon groves of olive and orange trees, roads, towns, and 
gardens, appeared over all the land. They built a large 
city called Granada, and in it were magnificent palaces. 
One of these, called the Alhambra, is standing to this day. 
Its walls and ceilings were covered with stucco that looked 
like fine carving and was beautifully colored and gilded, 
and the lower part of the walls was covered with tiles; 
while the gardens were made delightful with fountains, 
fragrant shrubs, and gay birds. Here the rich, brave 
Moors lived happily with their wives and daughters, who 
were often very beautiful. 

But they were years in spreading through the country; 
and then the people north of them, who were mostly 
Christians, became more and more powerful and drove 
them back to the south again, till at last nearly all the 
country was governed by the Spanish rulers, Ferdinand 
and Isabella, and the Moors had only a small but pleasant 
part in the south. 

This king and vueen did not like the idea of having 
such a proud, powerful people as the Moors in the same 
country with them, especially in the best part of it. And, 
besides, they thought it dreadful to be so near such infidels , 
as they called them ; for the Moors did not believe in 
Christ, but had a religion of their own. 

The Spanish lords and gentlemen, or knights as they 
were called in those days, were always finding excuses for 
skirmishing with the Moors; and at last Ferdinand and 
Isabella went down with a great army, and, after much 
fighting, conquered them ; and, long afterward, they were 



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Page 115. 


A RECEPTION HALL IN THE ALHAMBRA. 










































































n 6 OUR WORLD READER. 

driven from the country. There are still many stories 
among the people who live in the old ruined Moorish halls, 
of the times when the beautiful infidel girls were heard 
singing behind the high walls of their gardens, and the 
Moorish knights ruled the land. 

This was many years ago, and Spain is not so powerful 
a country now. 

We have good reason to remember Isabella, as she sent 
out the men who first sailed across the Atlantic, and found 
the new continent of America. The Spaniards came over 
afterward, and settled in parts of South America, as well 
as in the south of North America; and in those places the 
people still speak Spanish. 

The rest of Spain is not so fair and pleasant as the 
southern part; and much of the country is bare and moun¬ 
tainous, so that often, for miles, a stranger will find it 
rather bleak and gloomy. Things do not generally look 
so bright and cheerful as in France. 

Madrid, where the kings live, is a large city in the mid¬ 
dle part of Spain. You will find Granada in the south, 
and also the Guadalquivir River, that flows through the 
pleasant land of the old Moors. 

Salamanca is a large city, famous for schools. 

It seems as if all the Spanish peninsula should belong to 
one people ; but there is a small country on the west 
coast, called Portugal. 

The Portuguese, having so little land at home, have 
always been ready to sail about the world, and make new 
colonies wherever they could. They are excellent sailors. 

Lisbon, the capital, is a large city, which was once 
almost destroyed by a terrible earthquake. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY, 


II 7 


Lesson VI.—Where is the strait of Gibraltar? What people 
crossed over from Africa into Spain long ago? What kind of coun¬ 
try did they find? What became of the Moors ? What reason have 
we to remember Oueen Isabella? Where did the Spaniards first 
settle in the New World? What of the rest of Spain? What cities? 
What small country west of Spain? For what are the Portuguese 
noted ? What of Lisbon ? 


LESSON VII. 

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND, OR THE BRITISH 

ISLES. 

We have already learned something of Great Britain. 
It is a little island world in itself; but it is always called 
one of the countries of Europe, because it is so near the 
continent, that only a few hours’ sail across the channel 
brings one to France or Holland. By the shortest way, 
you can go over to France in an hour and a half. 

England, Scotland, and Wales are one island. It looks 
so small, a mere speck by the side of the great countries 
in Asia, that it is difficult to understand how so many 
large cities, fields and forests, lakes and rivers, find room 
there, and how so many thousands of busy people are living 
and working there every day. 

Much of the land belongs to a few rich people; and one 
nobleman often owns a number of farms, or a whole village 
full of houses, which he rents to the men who work the 
ground. 

On the west side of England is Wales, which is quite 
wild and beautiful, with hills, rocks, lakes, and streams ; 
for it is too rough to be all made into fields. 


118 


OUR WORLD READER. 


All through England are villages and railroads running 
from one great city to another; such busy cities, where so 
many hands must find work, and so many mouths be fed! 

There is Manchester, with its tall factory chimneys 
smoking, its steam engines roaring, its wheels whirling, 
and looms clattering. To Manchester are carried many 
bales of cotton from America; and there thousands of 
men, women, and little children, work busily in the fac¬ 
tories, weaving yards upon yards of calico and muslin to 
be sent abroad to other countries. 

There is Sheffield, where knives, forks, scissors, and all 
sorts of steel things, are made ; for near these cities there 
is plenty of iron, and also plenty of coal for the hot fires 
that make the steam for the engines. 

Liverpool is the city at which most of the ships and 
steamers from America stop, and where there is all the 
time a crowd of vessels loading and unloading. 

But the largest city is London, where there are many 
public buildings and fine churches, besides palaces and 
parliament-houses. Here the queen holds her court, and 
the lords and ladies live in splendor; while many poor, 
miserable people, in the far-off, dirty streets, find it hard 
to get anything to eat. 

There was a time when Scotland did not belong to 
England, but had kings of its own ; and there was many a 
year of fighting and quarreling, until Queen Elizabeth of 
England died without any children, and the King of Scot¬ 
land, who was next of kin, became King of England. 

Scotland, as you see, is north of England, and has rather 
a colder climate. It is far more hilly; and the northern 
part is so wild and mountainous, that it has always been 
called the Highlands. Many people go there in the sum- 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


”9 

mer to see the beautiful mountains and lakes. Have 
you ever heard of the Highlanders, with their dresses of 
bright plaid and their black-plumed caps ? They were a 
bold, hardy people, gathered into different families, or 
clans, governed by chiefs. The clans were named after 
their chiefs : as, “ Clan Campbell,” “ Clan Stuart,” etc.; 



A LAKE IN SCOTLAND. 


and each clan had its own plaid, so that every man was 
known by his dress. It was a long time before they would 
have anything to do with the English and the more peace¬ 
able Lowlanders. I should never end if I began to tell you 
all the stories that have been written of them; about Wil¬ 
liam Wallace and Bruce, their great chiefs, their fights, 
and the tales and songs made about them. 

The most noted city is Edinburgh, one of the most 
beautiful old cities of Europe. The picture on the next 
page shows some of the most interesting parts of it. 

Ireland was conquered by the English a long time ago ; 
and now Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales all form 
one country. 

The climate of Ireland is mild, and many parts of this 






120 


OUR WORLD READER. 



island are very beautiful. The small farmers rent their 
lands from the noblemen, and often have poor cabins, 
ragged clothes, and hungry-looking faces; but these peo¬ 
ple are always gay, kind-hearted, and generous, and ready 
to help one another. 


EDINBURGH. 

There are many fine castles, and large, busy cities. 
Cprk is the chief seaport. Dublin is a large, handsome 
city, built on the shore of a very beautiful bay. Belfast is 
the chief port. 

The largest river is the Shannon. 














FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


121 


Lesson VII. — What is Great Britain called? What is said of 
England? For what is Manchester famous? For what Sheffield? 
Where is Liverpool ? What is the great city of England ? What is 
said of Scotland? Where is Edinburgh? What is told of Ireland? 
Where is Belfast? Dublin? What is the largest river? 


LESSON VIII. 

MIDDLE EUROPE. 

There are other countries in the middle of Europe, that 
you can learn more about by and by. Austria is one, 
Prussia, another; and there is Switzerland, a little coun¬ 
try up in the mountains, where the people have always 
been so bold, hardy, and free, in their mountain homes, 
that they would have no king. And though, every now 
and then, the neighboring nations have tried to lay hold 
of this little State, the Swiss have fought so hard, killed 
so many men, and made such a troublesome job of it for 
the strangers, that they have thought at last such a small 
land of rocks and snow-topped mountains would cost too 
dear. So the Swiss still live in the midst of their glaciers, 
their pine forests and mountain lakes. 

A portion of Germany is flat, and a part lies among the 
smaller ridges of the Alps. Here is the Black Forest; 
and here are many of those pretty little villages where the 
wood carvers and shepherd girls live of whom we have 
already spoken. 

Through this country runs the beautiful River Rhine, 
with its old castles, vineyards, and large, handsome cities. 

The Cologne water you often see is named from one of 
these cities where the best of it is made. 


122 


OUR WORLD READER. 



In a large city called Hamburg, excellent pianos are 
made, for the Germans are fond of music, and much of 

the finest has been writ¬ 
ten by them. Nurem- 
burg is an interesting 
old city. 

The prettiest toys in 
the world are also made 
in Germany. There are 
cities where hundreds of 
people live by making 
these toys, to send off 
for the children in Eng¬ 
land and America. 

There is scarcely a 
country where they have 
such pleasant Christmas 
holidays. In all the vil¬ 
lages in the land, the 
bells ring joyously 
Christmas morning; and 
the little children are gathered in the churches to sing 
hymns to the Christ-child, and make their little prayers that 
they may become like Jesus, pure and holy. 

In the great houses, there are always Christmas trees 
for the dear children, hung thick with sugar plums, and an 
abundance of those beautiful playthings that are made in 
the German cities. Great baskets are packed full of tea, 
sugar, cakes, bread, and meat, as well as warm flannel 
jackets, and good, strong gowns, to be sent to all the poor 
in the neighborhood. Little gifts are also prepared for 
the village children, who often gather in the evening for a 
dance. 




FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


23 


Holland is a flat country on the coast; and the land is 
so low, that the water from the sea sometimes overflows 
it for miles, destroying fields, houses, and even whole vil¬ 
lages. But the people build up a sort of wall, called a 
dike, to keep the water back; and unless these dikes break 
down, which sometimes happens, the country is safe. 

Holland is the home of the Dutch ; and they are very 
fond of sailing and skating. Market women often go 
miles on their skates. There are many canals in Holland 
and families live in their boats on the canals, just as we do 
in our houses. The boats, as well as the houses, are kept 
very neat. Perhaps because they have not a very large 
country at home, and because they live so much in sight 
of the sea, the children talk of ships and trading, until 
each boy has a fancy to visit the strange lands he hears 
of, or to trade for himself. In this way, many of them be¬ 
come sailors before they are twelve years old. 

Amsterdam is a large city, to which many of our own 
vessels go. 

You will see that the River Rhine passes through Hol¬ 
land on its way to the sea; and many fine, tall pines are 
brought down on its waters from the Black Poorest to 
make masts for Dutch vessels. 

Denmark is a peninsula running north from Germany; 
and north of Denmark is a long, wide strip of land, reach¬ 
ing down from the Arctic Ocean, and nearly cut off from 
the rest of Europe by the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of 
Bothnia. This peninsula, besides being cold, is very 
rough and hilly; for the Dofrafield Mountains run through 
it from north to south, dividing it into two long, narrow 
countries called Norway and Sweden. On the coast of 
Norway are deep fiords, or narrow gulfs running up into 


124 


OUR WORLD READER. 


the land. The shore is high and steep, and the little vil¬ 
lages are built in among the rocks. The people here are 
fishermen, and go up and down the coast for herring, or 
far off for whales and large fish. Some, too, go into the 
forests in the winter and cut down the trees, letting them 
float down the streams to the coast. And there are little 
farms, too, with an upland pasture to which the cattle go 
in summer. They like so much to go, that when the 
season comes, if they are not watched, they will scamper 
off by themselves. The oldest daughter goes up to take 
care of the dairy. 

Lesson VIII. — What are some of the countries of Middle Europe? 
What is said of Switzerland? Where is Germany? What river 
runs through it? Where is Cologne-water made? What of Ham¬ 
burg? What is the said of Christmas in Germany? What kind of 
a country is Holland? What of the people? Where is Amsterdam? 
What iS'Denmark? Where are Norway and Sweden? 


LESSON IX. 

RUSSIA. 

We have already gone over quitfe a number of countries; 
but there is still half of Europe left, and this all belongs 
to one nation. It is called Russia, and is mostly a vast 
plain, with the Arctic Ocean on the north and Asia on 
the east. 

You can see that the climate of the greater part must 
be very cold, and the rivers often frozen. Even the Volga, 
that great river running south into the Caspian Sea, is 
blocked up with ice part of the year. Snow is on the 
ground so long, that the Russians use sleighs a great deal, 



A RUSSIAN VILLAGE 










































































































































































































126 


OUR WORLD READER. 


instead of carriages; and the country is generally so flat, 
that they can dash along at a swift pace. Wrapped in 
thick, warm furs, and drawn by several horses smoothly 
over the snow, one would not wish a better way of trav¬ 
elling. 

In the south, some parts of this country are pleasant, 
and produce grain of different kinds. Near the Caspian 
Sea, it is a level country without hut or stone, like a west¬ 
ern prairie. The Russians call this a steppe. On these 
steppes roam a wandering people who have no houses, and 
live wholly by their flocks and herds. When the flocks 
have eaten off all the grass in one place, they take up their 
tents and move with their families to another. On the 
steppe you may see now and then a train of camels, 
moving slowly along with stately step, or a horseman on 
the distant horizon. The north of Russia, toward the 
Arctic Ocean, is dreary, excepting in the short summer. 
The land is so flat, that it is often wet and marshy, and 
half the year the ground is covered with snow. 

You would not expect to find many towns or people in 
such a region ; but there are both. On the little gulf run¬ 
ning up from the Baltic Sea is a large, handsome city, 
which is named St. Petersburg, after a great king, or czar , 
as the Russians call their ruler. 

Until recently, the Russians were a rough, ignorant 
people, less civilized than the other nations of Europe; 
but when this Peter came to be czar, he determined to 
improve his country and people. So he went about for 
several years in other countries, studied hard, and worked 
with his own hands, learning how to make the best ships. 
At last, he went home, and took with him good workmen, 
who could teach his people how to build them. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


127 


He adorned his large city with splendid palaces; and it 
was called St. Petersburg, which means the city of Peter. 
He also had many strong vessels built, changed bad habits 
and fashions for better ones, and did indeed improve the 
whole country as much as was possible for one man. 

The Czar Peter could not have made quite so much 
change in Russia if he had not had such power over the 
people. The peasants there are called serfs , and, until 
lately, were slaves to the rich owners of the land,— 
bought and sold with the land they lived on: but they are 
in better condition now; for in 1861, Alexander II. made 
them all free. 

Another large city in Russia is Moscow. When the 
French armies, under Napoleon Bonaparte, were most 
successful, they marched into Russia at one time as far as 
Moscow. It was a long, dreary march through the cold 
winter; and the soldiers from pleasant, sunny France 
were unused to such weather. But Napoleon said to 
them, “ Courage! once in the city of Moscow, you will 
have houses, food, and a long rest for the winter.” And 
so they marched on, feeling quite sure of taking the city 
from the Russians. At last, they came near, all faint, 
cold, and hoping for rest and comfort, only to find the city 
in one great blaze ; for the people had set fire to their 
houses, and fled. Then they were obliged to turn back, 
without rest and without courage. Day after day they 
starved and froze, dropping down dead in the snow, one 
after another, until, out of all those thousands of men, not 
many lived to get back to France again. 

Since then the Russians have had a war with the people 
called Turks, who live near the Black Sea. The French 
and English both thought Russia was quite large and 









































































































































































TALKS ON THE MAPS. 

V. — Europe. 

See how many countries of Europe are separated from those next 
them by mountains. In the old times how did mountains help to 
keep enemies out of a country? If there were no mountains on the 
map you could still tell pretty nearly where the high-lands are. How 
would you know this ? The little beginning of a river is always much 
higher than any other part. It is much higher than the big mouth 
where the water of all the rivers taken up on its way pours out. There 
are three peninsulas in the south. Which of these has been the most 
famous ? What climate do the peop'le have on these peninsulas ? 
What things grow there ? One of these peninsulas has a little penin¬ 
sula at its end. It also has a city very beautiful in the old time. 
Can you find it and remember its name? Notice the shape of Italy. 
What does it look like ? A boot with the heel toward the east ? Put 
your finger on the city where the people go about in gondolas. Find 
in Italy, too, the city once the capital of the world. Does the map 
show many mountains in France ? Find the great city on the river 
Seine of which we hear so much. East of France is the small 
and very mountainous country of Switzerland. What rivers rise there? 
Through what country does the river Rhine flow ? Put your finger 
on its source, and follow it down to the sea. In what direction does 
it run, and in what country is its mouth ? Where are the dikes that 
people have built to keep out the sea? Which is the biggest country 
of Europe? Find the city that was burned when the French were 
about to take it. In what ways can people go by water to the fair at 
Nijni Novogorod ? Find Constantinople and see whether it would be 
easy to go out of the Black Sea if the people at Constantinople were 
not willing. We might call that the gate of the Black Sea. Look at 
the long peninsula at the north. What do the people here do to 
live ? When you see the very crooked line that makes the west coast 
of Norway, what do you think about the shore ? Does that crooked 
line mean a rocky shore with many inlets, or a smooth, sandy shore 
with long beaches? What separates Norway from Sweden ? Which 
country of Europe is on two great islands ? How long would it take 
to cross where England comes nearest to the main land ? Why do 
you suppose Ireland is called the Emerald Isle? 


128 


OUR WORLD READER . 


powerful enough, and sent soldiers to help the Turks. 
You have probably heard people speak of the Crimean 
War, and of Florence Nightingale, a kind lady, who went 
out to nurse the sick soldiers. The battle-ground was 
around the fortified city of Sevastopol, on the little penin¬ 
sula of Crimea, which runs down into the Black Sea. 

If you were in Russia you would like to go to the fair 
that is held at Nijni Novgorod. Taking the train at 
Moscow, and riding over a flat country, you would come, 
in about two hours, to the town, which is on the wide and 
deep-flowing Volga. Another river flows into the Volga 
here, so boats can come in three ways to the town. Let 
us go down to the fair. How many strange people we 
shall see, with the things they have brought from far-off 
countries ! Here will be men from over the Ural Moun¬ 
tains who have brought precious stones cut in Ekaterin¬ 
burg, and no longer rough as when they came from the 
mines. They have purple amethysts, and yellow topazes 
and the bright green malachite which is made into boxes, 
vases and paper weights. Here are Prussians from the 
Baltic Sea, who have brought yellow amber found on the 
shore. We must look over the amber to see if we can 
find some curious pieces that contain insects. This 
pretty amber was the sap of trees that grew long ages ago, 
and when the poor little insect rested on its sticky surface 
he was caught, the sap closed over him and there he has 
been ever since; and the old trees, changed into stone, 
lie far under the Baltic Sea, which tosses up the amber on 
the shore. Gay-colored rugs and shawls have been brought 
to the fair from over the Caspian Sea, and costly furs all 
the way from Eastern Siberia. Here are, too, the soft, 
curly black lamb-skins that we call Astrakan. The best 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


129 


of these will not come over to us, for the eastern people 
like to wear them made into caps. 

We shall not care so much to look at the wheat and 
barley and rye, which have grown on the wide-spreading 
steppes or plains of Russia and Siberia, for we have seen 
these at home. Under a long gallery by the river is iron 
in bars and sheets, and in kettles too — not pretty to look 
at, but very useful, and the best thing that comes to the 
Russians from their rich Siberian mines. And here are a 
great many shining brass samovars or Russian tea-urns, 
for every family, however poor, must have its tea. The 
tea is brought to the Fair from China on camels and 
sledges, and in boats to Perm, just this side of the Ural 
Mountains; then boats take it down a river to the 
Volga, and up the Volga to the Fair. The sugar does 
not come from the sugar-cane as ours does, but is made 
from the root of the beet, which grows in the middle of 
Russia. There is plenty of beet-root sugar at the Fair. 

The caravans which bring goods for the Fair must set 
out a long time before it begins, for they have far to go. 
South of the Caspian Sea the camels are loaded two 
months before the time, and set out on their hard way 
across the deserts on the east of that sea. The men who 
take care of the caravans are roving Tartars, and stay at 
the frontier, till in November they set out again on their 
way back with the camels. The wandering tribes who 
keep their sheep on the plains, drive them to the Russian 
border, where they are killed, and the tallow candles made 
from their fat, sent to the Fair. So we shall see at the 
Fair how many different things the great Russian land 
produces, and in the next chapter we shall learn more of 
that part of it which lies in Asia, beyond the Ural Moun¬ 
tains. 


130 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Lesson IX — Where is Russia? Is the greater part warm or 
cold? How do the Russians often travel? What is the climate of 
the southern part? What is the chief city? What is the ruler 
called? Who built St. Petersburg? What else did Peter the Great 
do ? What can you tell of another large city ? What war have the 
Russians had lately? What can you tell of the Fair at Nijni 
N ovgorod ? 


LESSON X. 

MINES OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS AND SIBERIA. 

In the east of Russia there is a large river called the 
Volga, running from north to south. If we sail down this 
river for many miles below Moscow, and land on the east 
bank, we may get into a sledge with four or six horses, 
grooms to drive them, and a postilion to direct the grooms. 
Thus we may travel east, over a great plain called a steppe , 
for miles and miles. At last, however, things begin to 
change. There is no more tiresome level; hills rise higher 
and higher, and we approach a chain of mountains which 
you may find on your map, running between Europe and 
Asia. 

These are the Ural Mountains, and they are of great 
use to the Russians ; for in them are mines of iron, copper, 
and many precious stones. Some time ago, only a few 
huts were to be seen there; and a few serfs and prisoners 
were sent there to work. But now it is very different; 
and in the midst of the dark pine woods of the mountain 
country are large machine shops, and contrivances for 
mining. Rich merchants, and even princes, who own 
these mines, not only send out workmen, but sometimes 
go themselves, to look after their diamonds and emeralds ; 




FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


131 

and so it happens that we shall find occasionally, in some 
wild spot on the bank of a beautiful stream, a splendid 
palace, with gardens, hot-houses, and everything to make 
one forget the deep snows and gloomy forests of the Ural 
Mountains. There is quite a large town, called Ekaterin¬ 
burg, just in the midst of the mines, made up of miners’ 
huts and factories. 

Siberia. — Crossing over this ridge of mountains into 
Asia, we shall find ourselves in Siberia, a large part of 
which is a vast plain, reaching from the Ural Mountains 
to the Pacific Ocean, occupying all the northern part of 
Asia for thousands of miles. It is'often called Russia in 
Asia; for this, too, belongs to the Russians. 

You may well think that this is not a very pleasant 
country to travel in, much less to live in ; and yet there 
are people who have homes here ; and even Englishmen 
and Americans sometimes go to this dreary region ; for 
there is always something for men to do everywhere. It 
is not possible to live in the most northern part that bor¬ 
ders on the Arctic Ocean, because of the cold ; though 
people sometimes go there from curiosity. 

There are three large rivers, the Lena, Obe, and Yenisei 
(you can find them on your map) ; but they can be of little 
use near their mouths, as there they are frozen all the time. 
In the north, for miles, the snow covers the bare ground; 
or sometimes a great, black forest of pines stretches away 
over the flat country as far as the eye can reach. In the 
south, however, there is a pleasant summer time, when 
flowers bloom and barley and oats grow, and here are 
thriving towns, which trade with Russia and China. 
Among the Altai Mountains are mining villages. 

Many of the people are exiles ; for the Russians have 
long made a kind of prison of this dismal region. The 


132 


OUR WORLD READER. 


exiles are carried, partly by railroad and partly by boats, 
from Russia to Tomsk in Siberia, and then if they have 
further to go they must walk. They have around each 
ankle an iron band attached to a chain, which is carried 
up to the waist, so it is hard to walk, and still more diffi¬ 
cult to run away. The wives and children often go with 
the exiles, and all have to walk in the bitter cold and snow, 
in rain or in the heat of summer, this long, sad way. 
When they stop for the night they are crowded into small 
places which are very dirty, and where many must sleep on 
bare floors. Travellers have often described companies 
of these Russian convicts, or prisoners, walking, on the 
journey to their distant places of exile. They are so far 
from home, and the road back is so dreary, that, even if they 
should try to get away, they would most likely perish or 
be captured again. For this reason they are not locked up, 
but allowed to live in little huts of their own, watched over 
somewhat by a few Russian officers, and a governor who 
lives at Tobolsk. Many of these people are prisoners 
because they have done something wrong; but not all. 
Some good men and women are here because they wanted 
their country to be more free — and they have to live 
many years in huts where it is very cold, or to work in 
mines far away from their homes. And so this wide 
country stretching across the north of Asia, is like one 
great prison. 

Besides the exiles, there are fur-hunters, who spend 
their lives in the woods ; and a few merchants from other 
countries, who buy and bring home the skins to be made 
into furs. Hunting is dangerous in Siberia, and the hun¬ 
ters often perish from cold or hunger. Sometimes it is 
many days before the animals, hunted for their furs, are 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRATIIV. 


133 


found, and men are often buried in the snow. The most 
beautiful furs worn by ladies come from Siberia, and may 
well be costly. 

One of the finest furs is taken from a small animal 
called the sable. Another costly fur is that of a still 
smaller animal called the ermine. This last is found in 
other countries ; but in Siberia the skins are more beauti¬ 
ful ; for here the hair of the ermine is perfectly white, all 
except the tip of the tail, which is quite black. When the 
skins are used for making muffs, tippets, or trimmings, a 
number of these black tips are tacked all over the white 
fur, making it look as if the skin were naturally spotted 
with black. The marten is also hunted for its fine, soft, 
brown fur. There are two kinds, but the stone-marten is 
the prettier. The hunters bring their skins to the cities, 
and sell them to the traders. Though the Siberian furs 
are called the finest, many are brought from British 
America, which has become a great fur-hunting region; 
and we now hear very frequently of American or Hudson’s 
Bay sable. 

Lesson X. — Where is the Volga? What kind of country east of 
it? Where are the Ural Mountains? What can you say about 
them ? What country east of the Ural Mountains ? What rivers in 
Siberia ? What can you tell of the country and people ? What do 
we get from Siberia ? What animals are hunted for their furs ? 


134 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XI. 

THE SANDY PLAINS OF MIDDLE ASIA. 

You remember reading about the grand and beautiful 
sights among the Alps, in Europe ; but here in the vast, 
broad lands of Asia, where the mountain chains are so 
much longer, the rivers and forests far larger, the ravines 
deeper, and the torrents stronger, the country is still more 
wild and grand. Here are huge walls of rock, all rough 
and jagged, or split far down to where the foaming water 
rushes through deep valleys. Here are great blue lakes ; 
dark, gloomy caves and gorges in the rocky sides of the 
mountains ; and thick, dark forests. And rising above all 
are the white, snowy tops of the Himalayas, the grandest 
mountains in the world. 

The great plain of Siberia is bounded on the south by a 
long chain of mountains running from west to east. To 
any one who has been travelling over Siberia, it is a won¬ 
derful change to come into the midst of the wild country 
of the Altai Mountains; and one must go on horseback or 
on foot; for no wheels can pass through the deep valleys, 
immense forests, and over the high cliffs. 

The Altai Mountains make a sort of wall between Sibe¬ 
ria and another great plain, or steppe, in the middle part 
of Asia. This plain is mostly a sandy desert; but all 
around the edge of it, within a day’s ride of the Altai 
Mountains on the north, or of another ridge of mountains 
on the south, there are great fields of grass. 

On these grassy plains, reaching from the foot of the 
mountains to the sand, live many wandering tribes of 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


135 


people called Tartars. By wandering tribes, we mean 
those who live in tents, and move when their cattle have 
eaten all the grass in one place. A rich chief will have 
several thousand horses, oxen, and sheep, besides camels. 
The flocks are often driven in the morning several miles 
toward the mountains to get good grass; but at night 
they are brought into a large camp, consisting of perhaps 
a hundred tents, enclosed with stakes. Men and dogs are 
set to watch; for these wild tribes are constantly robbing 
one another. Attacks are usually made in the night: then 
there is a great noise in the camp ; the women shriek, 
the men rush out, and jump on their horses to follow the 
robbers; but sometimes a whole herd of cattle dashes 
away, like a whirlwind, before any one can stop it. 

These Tartars live altogether from their flocks, and have 
neither bread nor vegetables ; only sometimes a few dates 
and dried fruits, which they buy of people coming from 
distant towns. They prepare milk in various ways, and 
their favorite meat is horseflesh. On festivals they eat 
camel’s flesh, which is more costly, as they do not like to 
kill the useful camel. 

The wives and daughters of the greatest chiefs milk the 
cows and goats night and morning, instead of having ser¬ 
vants to do it for them. 

The summer dress of both men and women is made of 
two or three long, loose, cotton gowns, and the people are not 
cleanly. In the winter they all wear furs, for the cold is 
intense. 

The plain is covered with grass only around the edges. 
Farther toward the interior there are sometimes vast levels 
of sand, sometimes bare rock or gravel, and the whole 
country is crossed by ridges of mountains. People ride on 



are often made in severe winter weather over this dreary 
region, and the camel, which endures heat and thirst so 
well, likewise bears patiently the extreme cold. Sand 
storms often happen, and are very dangerous. 

In the southern part of the great plain is the country of 
Thibet. All about this high table-land are very high 


!36 OUR WORLD READER. 

horses, or on camels, which are still better; since often a 
whole day, or even more, passes without a sign of grass or 
water. How pleasant it must be for travellers, after a 
long, tiresome ride over the burning sand, to reach a Tar¬ 
tar camp, to see flocks of sheep once more grazing on the 
fresh, green grass, and to taste the cool water! Journeys 










FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


137 


mountains, and it is also crossed by great ranges, with 
lakes among them. The animals have warm coats, which 
you will think they must need in this cold air. The sheep 
and goats are strong and carry burdens over the mountains, 
but the handsomest and most useful animal here is the 
long-haired yak. He is a strong, sure-footed creature, 
black, or black and white, with a big hump on his back, 
and a fringe of long, black hair hanging down around his 
body. If he is treated kindly he will carry heavy loads. 
The yaks give milk like our cows and the wool is used for 
garments. From the goats of Thibet comes a nice wool 
used for shawls, and from this wool comes the name given 
to our cloth which is called Thibet. 

The Thibetans have some large cities, and are more civ¬ 
ilized than the other tribes ; living in houses, instead of 
wandering about from place to place. Their great city is 
Lassa, where the Grand Lama, or high priest, lives. He 
never leaves his dwelling, but sits cross-legged on a cush¬ 
ion, and blesses all who come to him. 

The west side of the plain is also shut in by mountains. 
In the eastern part is a large river flowing into the Pacific 
Ocean, called the Amoor; this country is not so dry and 
sandy. 

Lesson XI. — How does the surface of Asia compare with Eu¬ 
rope? Where are the Altai Mountains? What is found south of 
the Altai Mountains? Who are the Tartars? How do they live? 
What is the middle part of the great plain ? What storms happen 
there? Tell something about Thibet. What is the chief city of the 
Tartars ? Where is the Amoor river ? 


38 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XII. 

ABOUT CHINA. 

From China comes the tea we drink. This tea is 
brought here generally in small boxes, and looks like little, 
dark rolls; but, after hot water has been 
poured on these, rolls, you will find them 
softened, and spread out into little notched 
leaves. Now, these are the leaves of a 
plant that grows thousands of miles off, 
quite on the other side of the world, in 
that country which is called China, that 
you may find in the south-east of Asia, and 
which is a part of the great Chinese Em¬ 
pire. 

The tea-plants are not very high — not 
more than three feet — and grow on the 
sides of the hills, where the farmers plant whole fields 
of tea-shrubs, which they and their families take care 
of. In April when the little leaves first open, some 
of them are picked, and these make the best kinds of 
tea; but the last of May is the busy time in those 
parts of China where the tea-plant is growing. Then 
women and children ask the farmers to hire them, and 
go off to the fields with their baskets to gather the 
leaves. They strip the leaves from the twigs and fill their 
baskets, but they must be very careful to take out all the 
sticks and yellow leaves and throw them away. The nice 
leaves are then dried in the sun, and over a fire, or in an 
oven, after which they are rolled by the fingers into balls, 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


139 


and either dried again in the oven, or in the sun, according 
to the kind of tea that is made. The green tea has more 
of the oil and sap than the black tea, because it is dried 
differently. The Chinese are very fond of tea themselves, 
and drink it often through the day. 

China is one of the oldest countries, and yet we know 
less about it than about many others ; for the people were 
never fond of running about, nor even of having strangers 
visit them. But these unsocial Chinese now allow mer¬ 
chants from different countries to trade there, and ex¬ 
change goods with them ; and many of them have come 
across the Pacific Ocean to our country. 

The Chinese think an empress of their country, very 
long ago, first reared the silk-worm (not really a worm, 
but a caterpillar), and made silk, and they have in Pekin an 
altar in her honor. Perhaps she liked to watch the won¬ 
derful ways of little creatures about her, and so she saw 
these caterpillars feeding on the leaves of a mulberry tree. 
When they had eaten enough, she saw that they kept 
quiet and wound all around themselves threads and threads 
of soft silk, spinning it from their bodies. Out of this 
cocoon would come in time a handsome moth, and spread 
its wings to fly. But this would break the threads, and 
the thought came to her that these strong silk threads 
might be woven into stuffs. So she killed the sleeping 
silk-worm and made silk of the covering of his little bed. 
This was so long ago, that we cannot know whether the 
story of the empress is true or not; but China is a very 
old country, and was perhaps the first to have silk. 

People in many other countries have now learned how 
to rear the silk-worms, and this needs much care. 

When the worms are growing, they must not be dis¬ 
turbed by noise or bright light, and they like nice, clean 


140 


OUR WORLD READER . 


places; and when the cocoons are all made, they remain 
quiet for six days, when the little creatures inside are 
killed by steam. The 
cocoons are then care¬ 
fully packed and those 
the Chinese do not want 
are sent away. A beau¬ 
tiful kind of silk goods, 
called crape, is made in 
China, and is used for 
dresses and shawls. It 
is called Canton crape, 
from the name of the 
city where it was made. 

Fine China or porce¬ 
lain was also first brought from this country ; and that is 
why it is called China. Before the Chinese traded much 
with other people, their porcelain or China ware was 
the most delicate and beautiful, and people in European 
countries even now cannot make the colors, red, green 
and blue, upon their China, like those of the Chinese. 
There are few dishes upon our tables now which come 
from China. But when you see any of this ware, 
you must look at the queer, eight-sided pagodas or 
towers, on the hills. Some are five stories high, and 
some are even thirteen stories. The people thought these 
brought good-fortune, and built them solid and strong. 
On the old China plates, too, you will see how the roofs of 
Chinese houses are built, looking like the slope of a can¬ 
vas tent, and you will see people walking about, dressed 
very differently from us. 

It is by trading and learning from one another that 
nations improve; and while the Chinese are just as 



SILK-WORM. 


FIRST LESSOJVS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


141 



CHINESE PAGODA. 


they were years ago, other people, who have traded more, 
can now make finer silk and china-ware. 

China is a fine, rich country, with a pleasant climate, 
and just hilly enough for a variety of products. Besides 























142 


OUR WORLD READER. 


tea, rice is abundant there and is much used for food. 
Many useful fruits and trees are found there. The cam¬ 
phor and cinnamon trees grow in many parts, also rhubarb 
and ginger. 

The most beautiful tree the Chinese have is the Bamboo. 
It grows something like the willow of more northern coun¬ 
tries, but it is indeed more like a big grass than like a tree. 
The stalks are fifty or seventy feet high, and from ten to 
twelve inches thick. When these trees grow on both 
sides of the road, and the light, feathery sprays meet high 
overhead, it is a pretty sight. The Bamboo is as use¬ 
ful as it is beautiful. When it first comes up out of the 
ground, the tops are eaten, as we eat asparagus. The 
stalks are hollow, you know, and very light, and they are 
used in China for building houses, for the frames of awnings, 
for fences, cages, ribs of umbrellas, and for fans. The 
leaves make cloaks to keep out the rain, and covers to 
keep out the sun, and linings for the tea-boxes. The wood 
is woven into baskets, and out of it are made chairs, tables, 
water-pipes, cups and chopsticks, while the shavings are 
used to stuff pillows and mattresses. Paper and pencils, 
hats and handkerchiefs, buckets, flutes, and fifes, are all 
made from it. For a picture of the Bamboo , see page 69. 

As China has two large rivers, and very many small 
ones, people travel by water when they can, but often in 
wheelbarrows or sedan chairs, as well as in carts. A 
wheelbarrow, if it is only large enough and has a man to 
push it, is not bad, and a sedan chair is very pleasant. 
Luggage is often carried slung on a stick between two 
men. Thus much work, that is here done by horses, is 
done in China by men. 

As the people do not like to go with their families to 
live in other lands, the whole country is very much 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


143 


crowded. Often, indeed, the poorer people have their 
homes in boats on the large rivers near the towns, and 
make a living by fishing. The fisherman steps from his 
boat-house early in the morning upon a raft, and pushes 
out into a more open part of the river, with, strange to 
say, no fishing-lines nor nets, only baskets, and a few great, 



LIVING) ON BOATS. 

solemn-looking birds. The cormorants , as these birds are 
called, are excellent fishermen, and, diving in the water, 
catch one fish after another with their long bills, until the 
baskets are quite full. Then they catch as many as they 
like for themselves, and these are not few ; for they are 
such greedy creatures that people have the habit of saying 
“ As hungry as a cormorant.” If a fish is too heavy for 
one bird to manage, another comes to help him ; but when 
a little bird takes a fish, a bigger one will often take it 
away from him, being only a cormorant and not knowing 
any better. When several hundred of these birds are all 
fishing together, there is a lively and noisy time. 

The manners and ways of living of this people are very 
different from ours. They use no forks, but put food into 










144 


OUR WORLD READER. 


their mouths with two little rounded sticks, called chop¬ 
sticks. 

They wear loose gowns and trousers, like other Eastern 
nations ; and shave all the hair excepting the top-lock, 
which, plaited in a long cue, hangs down behind. They 
think it a great beauty to have their fingernails long and 
%sharp. The shoes of the men are wide and clumsy, turned 
up at the toes; but the ladies of rich and noble families 
have their poor little feet bound up tightly, and the toes 
turned under when they are babies, so that they cannot 
grow. A full-grown woman will have a foot only three or 
four inches long, and is proud of her pretty little em¬ 
broidered shoes. But it is a queer sort of pleasure, and a 
queer sort of beauty, too; for besides the pain at first, and 
afterward the little use of her feet, it cannot seem pretty 
to us to see a grown person toddling along like a child. 

The boys are sent to school early, and are brought up 
very strictly, according to the Chinese notion of right. 
They always learn exactly the same things, and in just the 
same way. They are quite ignorant about other nations 
and countries ; for they think no other people are worth 
knowing. 

The Chinese have more books than the other nations in 
Asia. They are governed by an emperor, around whom 
there is a great deal of ceremony and form. 

The largest cities are Canton, Peking, and Nanking; 
and the two great rivers are the Yang-tse-Kiang and 
Hoang-Ho. 

Lesson XII. — What do we get from China? How is tea is pre¬ 
pared ? What do we know of China ? Tell something about the silk 
worms. What kind of a country is China ? Are there many people? 
Why do we see pictures of Chinese homes on China plates ? What 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


145 


useful tree grows in China ? What can you tell of their way of fish¬ 
ing ? How do the Chinese eat ? How do they dress ? Have they 
schools and books ? What is their government ? What are the larg¬ 
est cities and rivers ? 


LESSON XIII. 

JAPAN. 

Four large islands and many small ones east of Asia 
make the Empire of Japan. As .these islands stretch over 
a long distance from north to south, some are warm and 
others cold; but in the largest island, where the trading 
cities are, there is a cold winter with a few days of snow, 
a warm summer and a pleasant spring and autumn — what 
is called a temperate climate. 

If you were sailing on a steamer going to Yokohama, 
the chief port of Japan, you would see, when you were still 
far off from the coast, a high volcanic mountain. It has 
not thrown out any lava for more than a hundred years; 
but the top, above the woods upon its sides, is covered 
with lava, rocks and ashes. The people of Japan must be 
very fond of their handsome mountain, for you will often 
see it painted on their fans and lacquered ware and 
screens and porcelain. The steamers that run across the 
Pacific Ocean from California bring back many of these 
things to our country, so that we see the Japanese care 
much for flowers and birds, and know well how to paint 
and how to embroider them. When the cherry trees are 
in blossom in the spring, many people go out to see the 
beautiful sight, and have picnics in pleasant places to 
enjoy it, just as we should go to a menagerie or a circus. 


146 


OUR WORLD READER. 


The Japanese are different from any other people in 
Asia. While the Chinese do not like to change, these 
people are keen to know about foreign ways, and to copy 
what seems to them good. They want to learn, and so 
they send some of their boys who are faithful and clever, 



JAPANESE TEMPLE. 

over to the schools in Europe and America. Teachers, 
too, from our country go to Japan and teach their children.’ 
In all these ways they are rapidly becoming like Euro¬ 
peans. But we might also learn from them, for we cannot 
make bronze, or porcelain, or embroidery, or lacquered 
ware like theirs, and we could all learn from them to be 











FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY . 


147 

gentle and kind and polite, for one seldom sees a rude 
person in Japan. 

If you went over there, instead of riding in a carriage, 
you would ride in something like a little girl’s baby-car¬ 
riage, only much larger, and one or two men would drag 
it. On the level country, the men go at a good pace and 
for a long time. The houses, too, would look quite strange, 
built of wood, one or two stories high, and with wide 
projecting roofs. 

In their rooms there is not much furniture, but a few 
chairs and pretty little tables, and a stand for a vase with 
a branch of quince blossom, perhaps, and a screen. 

The women wear loose, flowing gowns, but many of the 
men are now beginning to wear coats and trousers, as with 
us. Among the mountains are beautiful temples and 
bronze statues of a god, some of them forty feet high. 

The Japanese, like the Chinese, have tea-plants and 
drink much tea. They raise rice, too, and live more on 
rice, vegetables and fish than we do, and not so much on 
beef and mutton, milk and butter. 

They have the camphor tree, which grows very large. 
The stem and root are cut into little pieces and heated in 
water, and thus we have our camphor. 

Lesson XIII. — Where is Japan ? What do the Japanese make ? 
How do they differ from the Chinese ? How do they behave ? 


148 


OUR WORLD READER . 


LESSON XIV. 

ARABIA AND TURKEY. 

Coffee, as well as tea, grows in Asia; and you will find 
a country jutting out from the south-west corner of the 
continent, from which some of the best coffee comes. 

This country is Arabia , and there is a great deal that is 
interesting to be learned about it. A great part of it is 
desert land, and people travel almost wholly in caravans. 
Many merchants pass through Arabia with spices, gums, 
precious stones, and other costly things that come from 
the East. Camels are much used; but Arabia is also 
famous for beautiful horses, with arched necks, and slen¬ 
der legs; and they are often sent to other countries. 

There are two kinds of Arabs, — some who are civilized, 
and live in large, handsome cities; and others who dwell 
in tents, and dash about over the desert on fiery horses, 
often robbing caravans and killing the merchants. 

These desert Arabs, however, take good care of those 
whom they are protecting across the desert, and do not steal 
from them or let any one else. They have one camping 
ground for the winter and one for the summer, and when 
they are travelling from one to the other, they do not pitch 
their tents, but wrap themselves up and sleep under the 
open sky. So they are healthy and cheerful and can en¬ 
dure hardship without complaint. They carry up to Suez 
the wool and hair of their sheep and goats, and the gum- 
arabic, which is the sap of a tree growing here, and these 
they exchange for corn and tobacco; but they are not much 
given to trading. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPIIY. 


149 


Long ago, a man called Mahomet was born in Arabia, 
who had a strange notion that God had chosen him for a 
prophet to teach people the true religion. At first no¬ 
body would believe him ; for the Arabs had their gods, or 
idols, and thought it very wicked to say any thing against 
them. So they not only laughed at the new prophet, but 
were very angry, and tried to kill him. He fled from the 
place where he had lived, and wandered about for a long 
time with a few friends, living in rocky caverns, where he 
wrote a book which he declared to be the word of *God. 
More and more people joined him; and, by persuading 
and fighting, he succeeded in bringing over so many to his 
way of thinking, that what he taught became the religion 
of the country. In time his doctrines spread, so that now 
there are millions of people who worship one God, whom 
they call Allah , and one prophet, Mahomet, sent by Allah 
to teach men, and give them a book of lessons and prayers 
called the Koran. 

Mecca, the town where Mahomet was born, and Medina, 
the town where his body was buried, are in Arabia, near 
the Red Sea; and Mahometans, wherever they may be, in 
Africa, Asia, or the islands of the tropical seas, turn to 
these holy cities when they pray. 

The Mahometans say many prayers, and even bad men 
take great care to be exact in this matter. There are 
prayers for the morning and evening, and for other occa¬ 
sions ; and young children are taught to say them. Three 
times a day the priests from the minarets, or little towers 
of the mosques or churches, cry in a loud voice, in every 
neighborhood, “To prayers, to prayers, O true believers!” 
and men, women, and children begin at once to recite the 
prayers of the hour, whether they are in the streets or at 
home. 



those who come from Turkey often sail now through the 
canal at the Isthmus of Suez and down the Red Sea. 
Then they have only a little way to go to their holy cities. 

The Arabs are a dark-skinned people, with dark eyes, 
and dark, straight hair. They are generally slender, and 


jtjO OUR WORLD READER. 

If Mahometans live near enough they like to make jour¬ 
neys or pilgrimages to Mecca, and sometimes to Medina also, 
and many a weary mile they travel in caravans across the 
desert sands, from Persia and from Turkey. But pilgrims, 
as well as other people, like to take the easiest way, and 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


51 


often handsome. They wear loose gowns of silk, linen, or 
cotton, with wide trousers gathered around the ankles; 
and, instead of hats, the men have several yards of muslin 
or linen twisted round their heads, called turbans . The 
women wear close-fitting vests, with skirts of different 
colors, and trousers like those of the men. They always 
wear large, thick veils on their heads, in the street or 
before men, which are drawn over their faces so as to 
show only their eyes. It is a great disgrace for a lady to 
show her face to any man except her father or husband. 

The Arabs and the Turks are Mahometans just as the 
Moors were in the old times; and all have nearly the same 
customs in regard to women. 

Rich men have many wives, instead of one as with us, 
and keep them shut up in a part of the house where men 
never come. These rooms for women are called harems , 
and joined to them are beautiful gardens, full of fruit-trees, 
birds, and fountains; but they are surrounded by high 
walls, and have trusty servants to keep guard. These 
wives have many maid-servants, so that there are often 
one or two hundred women in one house. Women are 
not respected nor treated so well as in Western countries. 
In all the cities there are slave-markets, where young girls 
and boys, as well as men and women, are sold for slaves. 

From Arabia came the Mahometans who settled in the 
north of Africa, and were there called Moors, — the same 
Moors who crossed over into Spain. Among them were 
many learned men and skilful builders, and they were 
quite unlike the wandering Arabs of the Desert whom we 
s.ee in these days. 

The Turks, whom we find in Turkey , — which is north 
of Arabia, partly in Asia, and partly in Europe, — are also 


152 


OUR WORLD READER . 


Mahometans, and live and dress pretty much as they do in 
Arabia. They are governed by sultans , or caliphs , and 
have handsome mosques in their cities. 

These people are very fond of flowers, perfumes, music, 
and such pleasures. Even a poor man will spend half the 
little money he makes in one day, for flowers, sweet- 
scented waters, and wax lights or oil, that he may enjoy- 
better his feast at the end of the day’s work. Fortunately, 
in those places, the climate is so warm, that shelter, 
clothes, and strong meats, are little needed, and spices, 
fruits, and flowers are cheap and plentiful. 

There are many beautiful flowers, lilies of different 
kinds, and quantities of roses. Whole fields of roses are 
planted, from which a delightful perfume is made, which I 
dare say you have seen. It comes in little vials, and 
costs a great deal: it is called attar of roses. 

These Turks have no chairs, but sit on cushions, and 
have often three or four more cushions to lean upon. 
When they have seated themselves, cross-legged, with 
their feet tucked under them, black slaves spread the food 
before them, light perfumed tapers, and sprinkle sweet- 
scented waters around. These people use no knives, but 
each one dips his hand into the dish, and then passes it to 
his neighbor. If a Turk wishes to be very polite to his 
guest, he puts morsels of food into his mouth. Each man 
has a long, queer-looking pipe, and will smoke for hours, 
sitting on his cushions, while his slave girls dance to 
amuse him, or sing, or, best of all, tell long and very won¬ 
derful tales. What should we think here, to see a grave, 
gray-haired man listening to fairy-tales ? 

The Turks bathe often, and in all the cities there are 
public baths. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


153 


There are several large, handsome cities in Turkey. 
Constantinople is known all over the world ; you may find 
it just where a narrow part of the sea separates Europe 
from Asia. Miles away, one can see the high, slender 
minarets , or towers, rising from the mosques, and the 
green tops of the trees that grow in groves and gardens in 
the midst of the city. Constantinople was built by one of 
the Roman emperors many years ago. It is a long story 
to tell how it came to belong to the Turks. 

There are two rivers running into the Persian Gulf, 
called the Tigris and Euphrates, which you must re¬ 
member. 

Near the River Tigris are two large cities,-—Bagdad 
and Bassora. A city called Damascus is a stopping-place 
for caravans ; and the people here were once rich in all 
sorts of splendid goods, especially heavy, embroidered 
satin called tapestry. This was used in Europe, many 
years ago, to hang on the walls of rooms in large houses. 

In the country now held by the Turks were once some 
of the most famous cities of the old time. Babylon and 
Nineveh, in the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, 
are often spoken of in the Old Testament, and were beau¬ 
tiful cities, although long ago they were deserted and quite 
covered over with earth. But men who knew what great 
cities these once were have been there, and have set many 
people digging, to see if there was anything of the old 
glory still to be found, covered up by the earth. And 
sure enough, they came to the great palaces of Nineveh, 
with stories of the kings and their battles and sieges, all 
cut in pictures on the walls. 

Lions with heads like men, and great winged bulls, still 
stood carved in stone at the silent gates. Many of these 


154 


OUR WORLD READER. 


wonderful things have been carried away and put into the 
museums of Europe and of our country, where they will 
be safe, for the Turks do not care for these things. They 
do not read our books, or know the story of the old time, 
when, where they now live, the cities were great and 
glorious. 

There was Troy quite up in the north-west corner of 
Turkey in Asia. You will like to read the story of the 
Siege of Troy, which has been a delight to girls and boys, 
as well as to their fathers and mothers, for thousands of 
years — how the Greek heroes came over to take the city, 
and what happened there, as Homer tells it. Men have 
gone from Europe, and even from America, to dig here, 
because they so liked the fine old story; and from the 
shores of Turkey, by the Mediterranean Sea, beautiful sta¬ 
tues and columns and pictures cut in stone have been 
brought away. 

Many ships go to Smyrna for raisins and oranges and 
figs, but when they bring something from the old cities 
under the ground, that is even better. 

Lesson XIV. — Where is Arabia ? What grows there ? What is 
said of the country ? What kind of people are the Arabs ? Who was 
Mahomet? What is said of the Mahometans? How do the Arabs 
dress ? What is said of the women ? Where did the Moors come 
from? What is said of the Turks ? What is attar of roses? How 
do the Mahometans eat ? What is said of their cities ? What famous 
cities were there in this country long ago? 


FIRST LESSORS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


155 


LESSON XV. 

PALESTINE AND PERSIA. 

The Holy Land. — North of Arabia, there is a narrow 
strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. This is Pal¬ 
estine, or the Holy Land, and was the country of the Jews. 

There Moses led the people of God up from Egypt, after 
they had crossed the Red Sea. 

David was king there; and after him his son Solomon, 
who built the great Temple. There is the city of Jerusa¬ 
lem, and the little town, Nazereth, where Jesus lived. 
You may find also the river Jordan, that is so often 
spoken of in the Bible ; and the Dead Sea, whose water is 
so bitter and salt that fishes cannot live in it. 

After Christ was crucified by those Jews who did not 
believe in him, his disciples went about teaching his word 
to other nations. But, while many nations were becoming 
Christians, the Jews were conquered, and driven from 
Palestine, which at last belonged to the Mohametans. 
After a long time the Christians in Europe thought it a 
shame that the Holy City should belong to infidels, and 
went over in great armies to take it from the Mohametans. 
There are many stories about these long wars, which were 
called crusades , or wars of the cross. 

But the crusaders did not recover Palestine, and it still 
belongs to the Mahometans. 

East of Turkey there is a country called Persia. We 
hear very little of it in these days ; but, long ago, the Per¬ 
sians were a very powerful people. They had fine, rich 
cities ; and some of their kings raised large armies, and 
conquered all the nations near them. 


156 


OUR WORLD READER. 


They worshipped fire as a god, and built stone altars on 
the hills or high places. The sacred fires burning on 
these altars were watched by priests night and day, so 
that they might never go out. Other nations called these 
Persians fire-worshippers; but they are now Mahometans, 
although a little different in faith from most of the other 
followers of Mahomet 

The Persians in our day wear loose robes, and are much 
like other Eastern nations. 

They have always made a great deal of silk, and many 
precious stones are found in their country. The Persians 
used to make beautiful carpets and small rugs on which 
they kneel to pray. The rugs they make now are not 
quite so good as those, but still people like to buy 
them, for the Persians have always had a way of putting 
colors together so as to make something very pleasant to 
look at. 

Much of the land is barren and desert-like; but there 
are beautiful, rich valleys in different parts, where many 
delicious fruits grow, especially melons. 

Persia is famous for its beautiful flowers. Hyacinths 
and various other bulbous plants grow wild. There arc 
large gardens of roses, which are planted to make the 
perfume we call attar of roses. 

Lesson XV. — What do we call the Holy Land? Why? What 
river in Palestine? What sea? What became of the Jews? What 
were the crusades? What country east of Turkey? Were the Per¬ 
sians ever a great people ? What is said of them? What of the Per¬ 
sians of our time ? What flowers grow there ? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


157 


LESSON XVI. 


INDIA, OR HINDOSTAN. 

There is one more country in Asia that you must learn 
something about. Look on your map at the southern part 
of the continent, and you will find a three-cornered tract 
of land running into 
the Indian Ocean, and 
bordered on the north 
by the H imalaya 
Mountains. 

On the map of 
Asia, India does not 
look like a very large 
country, but it is as 
large as the whole of 
Europe, excepting 
Russia, and has many 
more people. It has 
several different 
states, and the people 
in some of these are more unlike than the English and 
the French, and do not understand each other’s speech. 
It has great cities, too, with palaces and temples of rare 
work and wonderful beauty. Some are of white marble, 
inlaid with precious stones, agates, bloodstones and jaspers, 
and with fine carving. We could not in our day build any¬ 
thing of so wonderful beauty. And all these have been 
built by the brown men of India. Among these brown 
men, to-day, are many who are ignorant and. poor and 



TEMPLE IN INDIA. 





OUR WORLD READER . 


I 5 8 

dirty, more so than any poor people we have with us. But 
there are also many who are wise and learned, not only in 
the learning of their own people, but also in our learning, 
and who speak and write English as well as we do. 

So you will like, when you are older, to learn more 
about these Indian people and about their great country. 

If we should sail along its east coast, through the Bay of 
Bengal, until we reach the north-east corner, and then go 
up a river, we should presently land 
at a large city called Calcutta. 

Here, in the midst of these Eastern 
countries, with the dark-skinned, 
loosely-clothed people, you will be 
astonished to see plenty of soldiers’ 
coats, white linen trousers, straw 
hats, and home-like faces; and also 
fine, large, white houses, with Vene¬ 
tian blinds, and long verandas, or 
piazzas. 

For a moment we might almost 
think we were again in England or 
America; but there are strange 
sights enough to bring us back to Asia, — clumps of cocoa- 
nut trees, rows of little mud huts, dark-colored people in taw¬ 
dry silk or white cotton garments. Standing at the corners 
of the streets are wild, miserable-looking creatures, nearly 
naked, with their faces painted white or yellow, and their 
long hair and beards straggling down. These men shriek 
out curses or prayers as they stretch out their long, bony 
hands to beg for money. Along the sidewalks are trades¬ 
men, squatted down in the midst of the wares they sell; 
and here and there a juggler is amusing a crowd of boys 










FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


159 


by turning somersets, and playing all sorts of tricks. 
Queer-looking, long boxes are carried through the streets 
by men holding a pole at each end. These are carriages 
that people ride about in, and are called palanquins. 

But how came the town so full of English faces and 
English houses, off here, quite on the other side of the 
earth ? It is a long story to tell how the English first 
began to trade here years ago, and are now masters of the 
country, and have everything their own way. 

Every year many persons go from England to India to 
make money. Whole troops of soldiers are sent out, and 
many of the officers and merchants take their wives with 
them; but the climate is hot and unhealthful, so that 
children are almost always sent to England to stay until 
they grow up. No Englishmen make homes here, where 
their children and grandchildren live after them, but they 
all hope to go back to England after staying a few years. 
Little English children do not often find any grandmothers 
and grandfathers in India. 

You will know, as India is near the equator, that the 
climate is hot. Much of the country is very wild, and 
covered with thickets of brush-wood, called jungles. These 
jungles are damp and unhealthful, and are filled with 
troublesome insects, and poisonous serpents, whose bite 
will kill a man in a few minutes. In the jungles, too, are 
fierce tigers which often kill and carry off cattle and even 
men. It is dangerous to hunt these tigers, and people go 
out to shoot them on elephants, so that the men with the 
guns are high above the thick jungle in which the tiger is 
hiding. 

The high tops of the Himalaya Mountains are always 
covered with snow. From their sides many streams rush 


OUR WORLD READER . 



160 

down, — some of them large rivers, and some of them tor¬ 
rents pouring through the mountain gorges in foaming 
waterfalls. 

South of these mountains there is a wide, rich valley, 
or plain, with a large river, the Ganges, running through 
it from west to east. 

Besides the rice, indigo, and gums that we get from 
India, the silk-worms furnish great quantities of silk 


TRAVELING ON ELEPHANTS. 

thread; and in the mountain country are pastured the 
Cashmere goats, from whose hair are made the finest 
shawls in the world. The Hindoos make very fine, thin 
muslin, used for some of our prettiest gowns, and called 
India muslin. 

Perhaps the strangest things in India, to one who goes 
there for the first time, are the huge elephants. They are 








FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. l £ l 

used instead of horses or camels, and every day people 
ride about, perched high upon the backs of these great 
creatures. The men who manage the elephants know 
their ways, and are not afraid of them; but they often do 
great harm. 

Some of the finest diamonds in the world come from 
India. Hundreds of men are kept all their lives digging 
and washing and sifting the earth in search of these 
precious stones. 

Diamonds are of all colors, but often pale pink or yellow; 
and those without any color are most valued. They glitter 
and sparkle brilliantly, and the rare ones cost thousands 
of dollars. The most beautiful diamonds of the world 
have come from India. The Emperor of Russia has the 
largest in his sceptre, and the Emperor of Austria has one 
of the largest. 

The famous diamond called the Kohinoor is in the 
crown of the Queen of England. This is so precious that 
it is kept with other precious things of great value in the 
Tower of London, and if you were in London you could 
go to see it. 

Lesson XVI. — Where is India? What other name has it? 
How large is it? What large city in India ? What is said of the city 
and people ? What are palanquins ? Why are there so many Eng¬ 
lish in India ? What kind of people are the Hindoos ? What fine 
buildings are there in India? What are jungles ? What is said of 
the Himalaya Mountains ? What of the Ganges ? What do we get 
from India ? What can you tell of the elephants ? What of the dia¬ 
mond mines ? 



























































































































































































































































































































































































































TALKS ON THE MAPS. 
VI. —Asia. 


See in what direction most of the mountains run. See, too, how the 
rivers flow in the valleys between the mountains and run down from 
the high table-land on three sides. To whom does the great plain 
on the north belong and for what is part of it used ? How many great 
peninsulas on the south ? You remember the peninsulas on the south 
of Europe. Is the weather here as it is there? See how much 
farther south and how much nearer the equator these are. In which 
peninsula do many English people live ? Some interesting people 
live on islands at the east of Asia. Who are they ? Find the country 
from which the tea comes. Which of the peninsulas is in part a 
desert? Put your finger on the place to which the Mahometan pilgrims 
go. How would a steamer go from the Mediterranean Sea to India? 
Show that cut through the land which is so convenient. 


162 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XVII. 

ABOUT EGYPT. 

Those of you who know the story of Joseph and his broth¬ 
ers, which is told in the Bible, will remember he was sold, 
and went with his master down into a land called Egypt. 
Only a few lessons back, you learned where Palestine is, 
which was Joseph’s country, and was called Canaan in 
those days. You will think, therefore, that Egypt must 



SUEZ CANAL. 


be near Palestine; and there you will find it, a little to 
the south-west, just in that corner of Africa that joins 
Asia. By the side of it is the Red Sea, which, as we read, 
the Israelites crossed long after Joseph was dead, and where 
King Pharaoh and his Egyptians were drowned in trying 
to follow them. 










FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


163 

And now this Red Sea is joined to the Mediterranean 
Sea by a canal which has been cut through the little strip 
of land holding Africa to Asia. The great steamers from 
England, that go often to India, do not now have to go all 
the way round the continent of Africa, but sail through 
this canal into the Red Sea and quickly to India. And 
this is good, because in India are many English people, 
who like to hear often from their homes in England, and 
are all the time sailing back and forth. 

Egypt is one of the oldest countries in the world; that 
is, the people had large cities, fields, and roads long before 
our Bible was written, and when most of the nations of 
the earth were wild and savage. 

We know more about the old times in Egypt than in 
other countries, because the people had a habit of writing 
everything that happened, on the walls of their temples 
and palaces and on the tombs of their kings. As many 
of these ruins are still found, some standing, and some buried 
in the ground, scholars who know the Egyptian language 
can read now what was written hundreds of years ago. 

Their way of writing was not like ours. They had 
strange-looking figures for letters, and represented many 
things by pictures; so that now, after all these years, 
there are often found, painted on the tomb of a king, the 
battles which he fought. Sometimes people, dressed dif¬ 
ferently from the Egyptians, are painted running away, 
showing that they were beaten in the battle. By these 
pictures we have learned how they used to live and dress, 
and what sorts of carriages and arms they used. 

Besides this, we are told a good deal about these people 
in the Bible. 

Egypt is not a large country, and the part which contains 


6 4 


OUR WORLD READER. 


the great cities and the cultivated region is a long valley 
in the middle, where the River Nile flows. 

You have already learned how this river overflows its 
banks every year, and waters the country where there is 
no rain. This happens from August to October. The 
villages are built on mounds above the plain, so that 
when the river has overflowed, its banks and all around is 
like a wide, lake, the people can be safely above the water 
and go sailing about in their boats. 

The people who now live in Egypt are Mahometans, 
and dress and live like Turks and Arabians. A part 
of the city of Cairo is new ; but in the old part we shall 
find narrow streets, and bearded, turbaned men, and we 
shall hear the same call to prayer from the mosques as in 
other Eastern cities. Many of the streets are so narrow 
that a camel with a bundle of sugar-canes on his back and 
the stalks sticking out on both sides, takes up the whole 
street. 

What should we think to see our ladies going shopping 
on asses ? Yet this is the common way of getting about; 
and we shall meet both men and women seated on these 
small animals, while servants go before to clear a way 
through the crowded street, crying aloud, “ Look out!” 
“ Take care, O uncle ! ” “ To the right ! ” “To the left!” 

“Thy foot, O my daughter!” “Run away!” The ser¬ 
vants who run before, with a light stick to clear the way, 
are dressed in velvet jackets embroidered with gold, and 
have white muslin sleeves and loose white trousers com¬ 
ing to the knee, and showing their strong black legs below. 
They wear turbans with blue tassels coming down to the 
middle of the back and flying behind as they run. One 
sees at Cairo many Eastern people of different colors and 


FIRST LESSOR'S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


165 

with different kinds of dress. Some are very black, and 
others brown or light-colored. Some wear colored silk 
petticoats, with jackets of a different color, so that the 
streets are very gay and amusing. 

The women cover their faces with a veil. Strangers are 
surprised to see children so dirty and poorly clad : even 
those led by richly dressed mothers are unwashed, un¬ 
combed, and often ragged. This is not because they are 
neglected, as we might suppose, but quite the contrary. 
Mothers are very proud of their children, and are con¬ 
stantly afraid that some envious person may bewitch their 
darlings with the “ evil eye ” if they should look too pretty. 
Therefore they never “dress them up” to go out. The 
baby is carried, not in its mother’s arms, but astride upon 
her shoulder. Little girls are taught at home to repeat 
prayers, sing, dance, and embroider. Only the boys go to 
school. The little fellows, in their long gowns and white 
skull-caps, sit cross-legged upon mats or cushions, and 
study their lessons from slates. When one lesson is 
learned perfectly, the master rubs it out, and writes an¬ 
other in its place. The children learn to repeat sentences 
from the Koran, which is their Bible, and it teaches them 
to be kind and forgiving, and good to animals. A school 
and a fountain are found at almost every mosque (or 
church), so that when you stop to drink at the fountain, 
you hear the children repeating their verses from the 
Koran, as they swing slowly in time back and forth. In 
some of the large mosques are schools for the older boys, 
where they learn much more. 

Not only sweetmeats and fruits are carried about the 
streets to sell, but also water in large skins, or leather 
bottles, which are swung in pairs either over the back of a 


OUR WORLD READER. 


166 

donkey or a man’s shoulders. The houses have wells or 
cisterns : but, for drinking, people like the water from the 
River Nile; and the water-carriers stop at door after door 
to fill one or more earthenware pots for the day. From 
time to time there are great processions or merry-makings 
of some kind, with music, drums, torches, and shouting. 
A wedding sometimes lasts for several days. 

If you were standing on some high place in Cairo, and 
looked westward across the city, there would be first the 
gay streets, then the green mulberry trees around, then 
the Nile with its boats, then the corn-fields beyond, and 
then, far off, the shining, yellow sand of the Libyan desert. 
And there, at the edge of the desert, would be the Pyra¬ 
mids, big and grand against the sky. Perhaps you would 
drive out to see them, or ride on the nice Egyptian asses, 
far handsomer than our donkeys, and with an easy, pleasant 
gait. In about two hours you would come to the Pyramids, 
the most wonderful works of the old Egyptians. These 
are huge, pointed, stone buildings, in the midst of a great 
bare plain, which seem to have been used as tombs of 
kings, and which remain nearly, perfect after all these 
years. In all the world there is nothing else like them. 
Inside you would find that a Pyramid is dark and gloomy 
enough, with many passages in the thick walls, and a room 
where the body of the king was laid. Three of the Pyra¬ 
mids are very large, but there are many smaller ones in 
this part of the country. Here was Memphis, one of the 
most famous cities of the old Egypt. 

Travellers often hire a boat with masts and sails, and go 
up the Nile as far as the first cataract. If there is plenty 
of water in the river the boat can often go up beyond the 
first cataract. This sail is very pleasant. If you were on 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


6 7 


the boat, you would see, as you went along, an ugly buffalo 
or a camel, tied and feeding on the plain, fields of waving 
grain, villages rising a little above the valley; and far off, 
on each side, where the green strip ends which is made 
fertile by the overflow of the Nile, you would see the 
yellow sands of the desert. 



You would come to the ruins of the grand old city of 
Thebes, where still stands the Temple of Karnak, which 
is one of the most wonderful in all the world. Its great 
entrance hall is so large that the largest churches or cathe¬ 
drals could be set down in it with plenty of room to spare. 
The columns are so many that they seem like the trees of 
a wood in number. On the walls are wonderful picture 
writings which tell the story of the Egyptian kings. In 
one place they give an account of the conquest of the 
Jews when the son of Solomon was king. And the 
Egyptians tell the story on the walls of this old temple, 
just as the Jews tell their story of the same time in the 
twelfth chapter of the second book of Chronicles, in the Old 
Testament. 

As you went farther up the river, you would often stop 
and go on shore to see the tombs built in the rocks, where 







OUR WORLD READER. 


168 

the story of the one who has died is told in the picture- 
language, and where the colors are as bright as if they 
were put on yesterday. 

There are no forests in Egypt, and the only large trees are 
the date-palm and the sycamore. In the shallow waters of 
the canals there are many water-plants. One of these, 
called the lotus , is a kind of lily, and has beautiful blue and 
white flowers, and a large root, something like an onion, 
which the people eat, either roasting it, or drying and 
pounding it to a kind of flour, of which cakes are made. 
The green tops are also cooked and eaten. Another plant, 
very useful to the old Egyptians, was a sort of reed on 
the banks of the Nile, that was made into paper; the only 
kind they had. It was called papyrus; and large rolls 
of it have been found, covered with writing. 

Egypt has not been well governed, and the people have 
been very miserable; but now England is trying to bring 
order into Egypt, and better ways, and there are many 
Englishmen in the country. 

Lesson XVII. — Where is Egypt? How can we sail from the 
Mediterranean to the Red Sea? What is said of Egypt ? Why do 
we know so much about it ? What kind of writing had the old 
Egyptians? What do we learn from it? What river in Egypt? 
What of the schools ? Of water-carriers ? What strange buildings 
in Egypt? What might you see if you were sailing up the Nile? 
What trees grow in Egypt ? What was papyrus ? What is said of 
the people now in Egypt? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


169 



LESSON XVIII. 

OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA. 

You must remember that the country of which we have 
spoken makes only a small part of Africa. There are 
many thousands of miles of which we have said nothing; 
and in fact there is no continent so little known. Bold, 
restless men, who have nothing else to do, sometimes 
travel in these places, that they may hunt the wild ani¬ 
mals; and preachers or missionaries are sent by the 
churches in Christian countries, to teach the negroes our 
religion, and to improve them if possible. 

South of the Barbary States there is a vast sandy 
desert. It is the largest in the world, and is called the 
Great Desert. You know already how merchants travel 
across deserts, with camels, in large caravans. 


70 


OUR WORLD READER. 


North Africa. —We generally think of Africa as the 
home of ignorant negroes; but there were long ago hand¬ 
some cities, the chief of which was Carthage, all along the 
north coast, on the Mediterranean Sea. And something is 
still left of these great cities. Over the gorges of the 
mountains are the aqueducts by which water was carried 
to the towns. There are writings on stone, and lovely, 
but broken statues, and pictures made with different 
colored stones called mosaic, which the Romans used for 
floors. 

Even among the mountains there are remains of baths 
and temples and many other things which tell the story of 
the great Roman people who once lived in the north of 
Africa. 

And after the Romans, came the Moors. They were 
civilized, and had books and schools, while many nations of 
Europe were wild and ignorant. The Moors lived there 
when some of them went into Spain, and most of the 
people who live there now are Mahometans. 

You may see, in the city of Algiers, pieces of statues 
and things that belonged to the Romans, gathered up for 
safe keeping in a beautiful Moorish palace, with Arab 
writing on the walls, and colored tiles. 

The Romans have gone and the Moors have gone, but 
the things they have left behind are better worth seeing 
than anything else in North Africa to-day. And this is be¬ 
cause the people, since the Moorish time, have been 
ignorant and cruel and good for nothing. Their vessels 
went out to rob and kill among the richly-laden ships on 
the Mediterranean Sea, taking men captive and selling 
them as slaves. At last some of the nations found they 
must try to put a stop to it. Our own country sent over 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


171 

war ships and taught them not to meddle with any vessels 
that had the stars and stripes flying. 

The French have the rich port of Marseilles on the 
Mediterrean Sea, and, about fifty years ago, they thought 
it would not do any longer to have the nest of Barbary 
pirates over opposite. So. they sent over soldiers to Al¬ 
giers. And now the French hold Algiers, Tunis and 
Tripoli, and keep them in order; and they have built good 
roads, railroads and bridges. 

Morocco is still in a bad state under a native ruler. 



CARAVAN CROSSING THE DESERT. 


In North Africa caravans are often seen coming from 
over the Desert. A caravan with a hundred or more 
camels and horses is a pleasant sight. The camels are 
piled up high with costly loads; and their owners, in the 
rich robes and turbans of the Mahometans, are mounted 
on beautiful Arabian horses. These caravans come from 
Egypt, visiting the cities of North Africa, and the villages 
in the oases of the desert. Sometimes large caravans 
come all the way from the Arabian cities into the African 
desert, exchanging goods with other caravans, or with the 
black tribes they find on its borders, and return home 













172 


OUR WORLD READER. 


after a journey of two or three years. After travelling all 
day over the hot sand, the merchants are glad when they 
can find a little patch of grass and trees where they may 
rest, smoking their long pipes, and listening to wonderful 
tales of strange lands and people, or still more wonderful 
tales of magicians and fairies. In these oases, oranges, 
figs, date-palms, pomegranates and peaches grow, and re¬ 
fresh tired travellers. 

Besides the inland deserts, there are rich, sloping coun¬ 
tries all along the east and west coasts of Africa; but 

they are very unhealthful for 
white men. These countries 
are watered by short rivers 
running into the ocean ; and 
many parts are covered by 
thick forests of large trees 
and twining plants, some 
useful for food, and some for 
dyes or medicines. 

In these countries, where 
the climate is hot, and un¬ 
healthful for strangers, there live hundreds of negro tribes, 
each with its own chief, or king, and its own language. 
The negroes have never learned to build cities or vessels; 
and have neither schools, books, churches, nor factories. 
They are still ignorant and savage, and live in little huts 
of mud, or in caves. Some of the best and most sensible 
tribes know how to make coarse cotton cloth, and jars or 
pots of clay. Most of the negro women weave baskets 
and mats of palm-leaves and willow twigs. The men live 
by hunting and fishing, and, indeed, do nothing else: for, 
if a little grain is to be planted, the women do all the dig- 




El A'ST' LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


1/3 


ging, as well as the weaving and cooking; for they are 
considered only as slaves. 

These tribes often fight with each other; and those who 
live near the coast sell their prisoners to men who carry 
them to other countries as slaves. 

The negroes hunt elephants for their tusks, or long 
side-teeth, which they send to the coast to sell to the 
white people who go there for them. It is from these 
tusks that our ivory articles are made ; and therefore they 
are worth a great deal of money in our countries: but 
traders only give the negroes glass beads, a little calico, 
and other trifles for them ; which is a fair bargain, for the 
ivory is of no use to the negroes, while they are delighted 
to get what seems very trifling to us. 

The ivory is heavy to carry, and the Arab traders often 
attack the negro villages, kill many of the people and make 
slaves of the rest. Then they load these poor creatures 
with the ivory to carry down to the sea and the ships. 
Some day perhaps there will be railroads in this country) 
and that will help put an end to stealing men, women and 
children and selling them for slaves. Many slaves are all 
the time sent away to Mahometan countries. 

White traders do much harm to the Africans by selling 
strong drink to them, which takes away the little sense 
they have; but along with these bad traders go good men 
also, who teach them to live as we do, to wear clothes, to 
make things, and to try to be good. 

When one has crossed the low country which borders the 
coast of Africa, and has climbed up to the high table-land 
farther inland, the air is cooler and the climate not so 
unhealthful. But it is hard to get through this country 
that makes the middle of Africa, and until lately we did 


74 


OUR WORLD READER. 


not know much about it. There is the great danger of 
sickness, and danger from savage men and wild beasts. 
But brave men who were not afraid to die, and who wanted 
to do good to the people or to learn about the country, have 
now even gone in at one side of this continent and have 
come safely out at the other. They have told us that 
there are several great lakes on the high land. 

It is easier to sail in a boat than to walk across a dan¬ 
gerous country, so that these great lakes are going to help 
very much to travel in Middle Africa. And already, on 
these lakes, missionaries have houses and schools, and are 
trying to teach these savage people to be kind and merciful. 
They even have little steamboats on these far inland 
waters. How did the steamboats get there? There are 
no rivers on which one can sail directly from the sea to the 
lakes, for when the rivers come from the table land down 
to the plain, they tumble down like the Nile and the 
Congo and the Zambesi in cataracts, and boats cannot pass 
these falls ; but “ Where there is a will there is a way,” and 
the discoverers and missionaries and traders have made 
their boats in many pieces, so that each piece can be car¬ 
ried on the shoulders of negroes, and then when they come 
to quiet water they put the little boat together and sail in 
it. 

Among these brave men you will some day read about 
Dr. Livingstone, who went into the middle of Africa, not 
to get ivory or to kill wild beasts for fur, but to do good 
to the poor savages, and to show them better ways. There 
was a time when he could not get out. Nobody knew 
where he was. He had learned so much about this wild 
land and had told us so much that we wanted to know, 
he was so wise and good and brave, that when he did not 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


75 


come out people were very sorry. So Mr. Stanley, a 
Welshman who lived in New York, said he would go and 
try to find Dr. Livingstone. He did go, and the place 
where he found him was by the shore of Lake Tanganyika. 
You may well think how glad these two men were to see 
each other. 

Perhaps you will suppose that Dr. Livingstone took good 
care not to go to such a place again. But no. He thought 
it right to go and to stay, trying to do good as long as he 
lived. So very soon he went on travelling and presently 
died there with no white man near. But the natives, whom 
he had taught, loved him and felt as if this good man 
were their father. 

Mr. Stanley, of whom we Americans feel proud because 
he is a kind of American, has made more than one journey 
to Africa since that first time, and has told us much about 
Africa that we did not know before. 

On the west coast there is a country called Liberia, 
where people in America have sent freed negroes, and 
given to each a bit of ground to cultivate, hoping that they 
would improve themselves and help to civilize the ignorant 
negroes in the neighborhood. Missionaries have gone 
there to live, and have formed schools and churches for 
them. They have made considerable progress, and have 
now a government something like ours. 

On the west coast of Africa is also the Congo Free 
State, a large country watered by the Congo, which some 
of the European powers, England, France, Germany and 
Portugal, have agreed shall be free to all and not be 
shut up by any one against the others. It was Mr. Stanley 
who proposed this wise and good plan, and it takes in a 
strip going quite across the continent. 






















































TALKS ON THE MAPS. 
VII. — Africa. 


On this map see the great desert in the north with the pleasant 
oases here and there where the date palms grow. There is a little 
range of mountains north of this. Whatsis it called? Spain you see 
almost touches Africa. What is the name of the passage which sepa¬ 
rates them and makes the gateway of the Mediterranean Sea? Find 
the famous river Nile. Think where the Pyramids must be, and put 
your finger on the place. Where does the Nile begin ? Those lakes 
in the middle of Africa are very big though they look so little here. 
Put your finger on the place where Stanley found Dr. Livingstone. 
All the middle of Africa is a high plain. What two rivers break into 
cataracts and flow from this plain to the sea ? What European people 
have come out and settled in South Africa ? 


;6 


OUR WORLD READER. 


The southern point of Africa is called Cape Colony, and 
is settled by the English. As the Cape of Good Hope is 
half-way on the long voyage to India, many vessels stop 
there going and coming. Here are ostriches, whose curl¬ 
ing feathers ladies like to wear. They are kept in flocks 
on the South African farms. Diamonds are found here on 
the Orange and Vaal rivers. Gold is also found in South 



OSTRICH 


Africa, and as we know, when it is said that there is gold 
in a place, men flock in great numbers to the spot to dig for 
it, hoping to become rich all at once. But it is soon found 
that there must be food for so many people and houses to 
live in ; so some of the diggers stop digging, and plant or 
build instead ; for those who dig will give much of their 
gold for something to eat. In this way where gold is found, 
towns grow up very quickly. Two years ago in one of these 
places in South Africa, there were four tents and ten 
people ; now the place is a town, with fifteen thousand 
people, and churches and hotels of brick and stone. 





FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


177 


Lesson XVIII.—What people once lived in North Africa? What 
is said of their works now? How did the people behave who have 
lived there lately? What did our government do about it? What 
did the French do? What is south of the Barbary States? What is 
said of caravans ? What kind of countries along the east and west 
coasts? What of the negroes? Who brings the ivory to the shore? 
What kind of a country is the middle of Africa ? What is said of the 
lakes? What of the missionaries? Tell something of Dr. Livingstone 
and of Mr. Stanley. What of the tribes far inland ? What of the 
Congo Free State? What of Liberia? What of Cape Colony? 


LESSON XIX. 

AUSTRALIA. 

You were told a little about Australia on page 48 ; but 
as this large country is a continent by itself, we will give 
it a chapter by itself. 

Australia is the smallest and the youngest of the con¬ 
tinents, though it is by no means a small country. You 
will find it south-east of Asia, with the Pacific Ocean on one 
side and the Indian Ocean on the other. Those who know 
most about the way in which the lands have been formed, 
say that Australia must once have been joined to Asia, just 
as Africa is now joined to it by the isthmus of Suez ; and 
that the great restless oceans beating and beating against it 
on both sides, at last washed away most of that part which 
joined them together, leaving only the islands which we 
find there now. 

The name, Australia, means “ Southern Land,” and you 
will see that it is all south of the equator ; but as it reaches 
pretty nearly up to it, you will see at once that it must 
have a warm climate. In fact, there is no really cold, 
snowy region in all the continent ; and for the most part 


178 


OUR WORLD READER. 


the weather is very beautiful, and favorable to all kinds of 
plants and trees and fruits and flowers. 

Australia is nearly as large as Europe, but it is more 
regular in shape; it has a rim of mountains near the coast, 
and the ocean all around like an island. Not so much is 
known of it as is known of Europe, however; and this is 
because, as I said in the beginning, it is the youngest of 
the continents, and has been well known to the rest of 
the people in the world only about one hundred years, 
though the land itself is much older than some of the 
other continents ; for you must know that the land on the 
globe did not all appear at the very same time. 

The people who were living on this continent at the 
time it was found and taken possession of by the Eng¬ 
lish, were not at all civilized or intelligent. Of course 
many of the same kind of people are living there now, and 
it is said of them that they know less than any other 
savages of any other country. 

At first the English people made use of this far-away 
land as a prison for the men who had to be shut up because 
of their bad lives; but by and by, what with the great num¬ 
ber of these men and the many officers who had to guard 
them, and what with the daring people who thought this a 
good country to get rich in, there came to be quite a large 
population. Most of the people were English, Scotch and 
Irish. Now what did they find ? 

First, as I told you, they found a favorable climate. 
There were wide spaces where cotton and wheat and 
grapes and every other kind of grain and fruit could be 
raised, vast plains suitable for feeding sheep and other cattle; 
there were the waters of the ocean all about for the fishing- 

o 

trade, and around the coast a greater number of pearl-oysters 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


179 

than could be found on any other shore. And the harbors 
were good, so that ships were perfectly safe in them. 

So this country became quite populous and very rich in 
a short time. Large towns grew up along the coast 
almost as fast as the wheat grew in the fields. A great 
trade sprang up with nearly all the countries of the world, 
so that the people had a market for everything they could 
raise, or make with their hands, or take out of the sea. 
By and by, they found, also, that they could take some¬ 
thing out of the earth itself; for gold was discovered in 
the mountains that lie near the south-eastern coast, and 
you know what happens when gold is discovered in a 
country. If a great many people went to Australia before, 
so many more went to dig gold, or to sell things to those 
who were digging, that we can hardly think how many 
there were of them all. Besides the gold, they also found 
coal and copper; so that several new ways of earning 
money were gained. So Australia, though it is so 
new a continent, is one of the most important for its 
products. 

But though the people have taken up a great deal of 
the land, not many have gone to live in that part which 
is far from the coast. This is partly because they have 
not yet had time, but a little more, perhaps, because the 
interior is not very easy to reach. There are no large 
rivers reaching far inland ; and it is always harder to travel 
by land in a wild country. Rivers, as you know, are a sort of 
ready-made roads. Then the climate is not quite as good. 
Not so much rain falls in the interior, and the great plains 
are so dry — almost like deserts —that the people some¬ 
times suffer for want of water. But we may be sure that 
men will plant their cotton and pasture their sheep farther 


xSO OUR WORLD READER. 

and farther inland, until the continent is all covered with 
fields and vineyards and towns. 

To-day there are four great cities in Australia, — Mel¬ 
bourne, Ballarat, Adelaide and Sidney. These cities have 
schools and libraries, colleges, asylums, hospitals, churches, 

parks and pa¬ 
laces, like the 
other large ci¬ 
ties ofthe world. 

The country 
belongstoGreat 
Britain but the 
people really 
make their own 
laws and govern 
themselves and 
are, perhaps, 
more free and 
prosperous than 
any other peo¬ 
ple in the world 
exceptthe Ame¬ 
ricans. 

Besides all 
this, Australia 
is very interest¬ 
ing on account 
of the curious animals we find there— the kangaroo, the 
emu, the dingo or Australian dog, black swans, white eagles, 
lyre-birds and birds of Paradise. There are rabbits, too, 
and so many of them that a little while ago the government 
offered a great reward to anyone who would show the people 
how to get rid of them. 



FI RST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


181 


And Australia is the country from which comes the help¬ 
ful Eucalyptus tree. This is now planted in unhealthful 
places in many parts of the world, and where it grows the 
place is better for men to live in. 

Lesson XIX.—Where will you look for Australia ? What oceans 
around it? Is it north or south of the equator? What climate has 
it? How does it compare in size with the other continents? How 
long has it been well-known? To what nation does it belong? Why 
did people go to live in Australia? Tell some of the reasons why it 
is a good country to live in. 


LESSON XX. 

HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND. 

Some hundreds of years ago, when the nations of Europe 
were already civilized, and had towns with churches and 
schools, they did not know that there was another conti¬ 
nent on the other side of the world; nor even that the world 
was round, and had another side. 

But some men, here and there, began to have such ideas. 
One of these was a sailor, named Christopher Columbus. 
He had sailed wherever people went in those days ; that is, 
along the coasts of Europe and Africa. 

The East Indies, whence were brought cargoes of spices 
and other things that were sold for large sums of money, 
were the most distant countries visited then. The journeys 
were so long and costly, that the merchants could not buy 
and sell as fast as they wished. 

Columbus thought that, if the earth were round, he could 
sail directly west across the Atlantic Ocean, and certainly 
come at last to the Indies ; and so he would, if America had 
not been just in the way. 


82 


OUR WORLD READER. 


But Columbus had no ships of his own ; and rich people 
thought his notion so silly, that they would not help him. 

At last, Queen Isabella of Spain gave him three little 
vessels, and he sailed on his voyage. On, on, they sailed, 

days and nights, and the 
sailors were frightened at 
being so far from home \ 
but at last they came in 
sight of land, which they 
supposed to be the Indies. 

They soon found them¬ 
selves in the midst of is¬ 
lands, but quite different 
from those they expected 
to reach ; and these islands 
have ever since been called 
the West Indies, as the 
others were called the Eest 
Indies. 

When Columbus went 
back to Spain and told the 
great news that they had 
found other lands, the Spaniards were delighted, and began 
to send out vessels full of people to occupy these new 
lands, where it was so warm and pleasant. 

They came in parties under different leaders, and sailed 
about in the Caribbean Sea, — some landing in South 
America, and some in that part of North America which 
is called Mexico. One of the captains who first landed on 
the continent was Amerigo Vespucci, and it used to be 
thought that the continent was named America from him. 
Many scholars now think America was the original Indian 



COLUMBUS'S VESSELS. 




FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 183 

name of a part of South America, and we know that was 
the first part of the main land discovered. 

In most of these places the country was covered with 
thick forests, where no axe had been, where there were no 
roads or paths except those the wild deer had made, and no 
houses but huts of bark or skin. The people they saw were 
nearly naked, copper-colored, and speaking a language the 
Spaniards had never heard. As they had at first called the 
land India, they called these people Indians; and so they 
are still called. 

But in two places, that is, in Mexico in North America, 
and Peru in South America, they found cities, and people 
living in them who could make cloth and vessels of differ¬ 
ent kinds, and work in gold and silver. 

The Spaniards were so crazy at the sight of this gold, 
that they thought only of getting what they could. They 
soon began fighting the Indians, and driving them off. 
They claimed the country for Spain, and more and more 
people came over and made settlements. Soon thousands 
of white men were busy digging gold and silver from the 
rich mines in the Andes. 

The Dutch and English began to think it would never 
do to let the Spaniards have all the New World, and their 
kings sent out vessels to claim land for them also. The 
English vessels sailed farther north, and landed on the east 
coast of North America, where they found neither a plea¬ 
sant country nor gold. They tried several times; but it 
was many years before any settlements were made. At 
last a party of Englishmen landed about half-way down the 
coast, and called the place Virginia. They did not find 
gold, but rich lands where tobacco would grow, and great 
forests. Two years later, a Dutch vessel sailed up the 


184 


OUR WORLD READER. 


Hudson River, and settlements were soon made there by 
the Dutch. Another settlement was made farther north, in 
Massachusetts, by the Pilgrims, who left England because 
they could not have religious freedom. This was called 
the Plymouth Colony. 

A colony is any settlement in a strange land by a com¬ 
pany of persons from some distant nation. For a long time 
those early settlements in North America were called 
English colonies, and those of South America, Spanish 
colonies. 

Though they had great trouble and suffering from hun¬ 
ger and cold, and much fighting with the Indians, the 
North-American colonies grew larger, the people built 
more comfortable houses than the rough cabins they had 
at first, and more persons came from England every year. 
New settlements were made, until they reached all along 
the strip of land on the coast between the ocean and the 
Alleghany Mountains. 

The settlements were ruled by governors sent from 
England ; but, after some years, the people in the colonies 
did not like this government, for they had to pay the king 
a good deal of money, and could not manage their affairs 
in their own way. After great trouble, they determined 
that they would have no more rulers from England, but 
would be a nation by themselves, and have nothing more 
to do with the king. An army of soldiers was sent over 
from England, and fought with the people in the colonies 
for several years. The colonists won at last, and formed 
a new nation, called the American nation. 

These colonies agreed to join together and become the 
United States, having one ruler over all, called a President; 
and they chose for their first president George Washington, 
who had been their leader in the war. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 1 85 

The first States were those along the Atlantic coast; 
but, after the war, many people came to America from 
other parts of the world, and crossed the mountains to find 
more land, of which other States were made, until now the 
United States of America reach from the St. Lawrence 
River to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic Ocean 
to the Pacific. They also own a country up in the far 
north-west called Alaska. 

The President, with those who help him govern, lives 
in the city of Washington, on the Potomac River. 

Each State has also its own governor and laws. 

The city in each State where the governor lives, and 
where the laws are made, is called the Capital; and the 
building in which the men meet together who are chosen 
to make the laws, is called the State House , or Capitol. 

The English still own all the northern part of North 
America, except Alaska in the north-west corner, and 
Greenland, in the north-east corner, belongingto Denmark. 

The Spanish colonies in South America also fought with 
Spain, and became free States, with presidents; and the 
people there whose great-great-grandfathers came from 
Spain speak Spanish, just as we speak English. 

Mexico is also an independent country; and the Mexi¬ 
cans, too, are descended from the Spaniards. 

A large country in South America was settled by the 
Portuguese, and is called Brazil. 

Lesson XX. Why did people first think of trying to sail from 
Europe across the Atlantic? Who wished to try? How did he get 
vessels and men ? What land did they find ? What happened when 
Columbus went home ? Why was the new continent called America? 
Why is it sometimes called Columbia? What did the Spaniards find 
here ? Why did they call the natives Indians ? What two places were 


186 


OUR WORLD READER . 


different from the rest? Why did the Spaniards stay there? Who 
sailed to North America? Where did the English first land? Where 
did the Dutch settle ? Where did the Pilgrims land ? What is a col¬ 
ony ? What is said of the North-American colonies ? How were they 
governed? What difficulty did they have with England? What hap¬ 
pened at last? Who was our first President? What States were 
then settled ? Where does the President live ? What is the capital 
of a State ? What part of North America do the English still own ? 
What became of the Spanish colonies in America? What is Mexico? 
Where did the Portuguese settle in the New World? 


LESSON XXI. 

SOUTH AMERICA. 

In the north of South America are a number of states, 
near the equator, where trees and plants are green all the 
year. There are several large cities, and many small 
towns. Near the mountain ridges are thick forests, twined 
with flowering vines. Throughout the country are planta¬ 
tions of coffee, groves of orange trees, great patches of 
pine-apples and bananas, and broad green fields of sugar¬ 
cane. In English Guiana the cane is planted in rows 
about six feet apart, and many little canals run through the 
fields, some to carry the water the plants need and others 
to float the boats that carry the cane and other things 
about the place. For you know it is much easier to carry 
things by water than by land, and a mule can tow a very 
heavy boat loaded with cane. When the canes are cut 
down they are carried to the mill and ground. Much of 
the juice comes out in the grinding, but not quite all, and 
the ground cane is pressed between stones and in other 
ways till all the sweetness is taken out. The juice is then 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


87 


boiled or heated by steam, and other things are put into it 
to make it clear and white; and at last the sugar is ready 
for our tables. Molasses, too, is made from the sugar cane. 
Who does all the hard work? Not the Indians, who have 
always lived in South America, for they do not like to 
work, but would rather hunt in the forests. Many eastern 
laborers have been hired and brought over from China and 
India, so that you hear laborers on these sugar plantations 
called Aladdin and Mohammed and Saladin, as if they had 
just stepped out of the “Arabian Nights.” Laborers hired 
in this way are called “ coolies.” 

The woods of Guiana are lively with monkeys of differ¬ 
ent kinds. There are the howling monkeys. As they are 
sitting all together on the trees, an old monkey will set up 
a horrible rattling noise, “Rochu! rochu!” and all the 
others join in with a bellowing which can be heard miles 
away, and then all is still again. Some go about in pairs, 
thirty together, and have a gentle, low cry ; and some have 
glossy nice hair which they take great pains to keep smooth. 
There is a little monkey, too, about as large as a grey 
squirrel, which has a white face and a black snout, and 
sucks its thumbs like a child. The tip of a monkey’s tail 
is sensitive, or feels, like our fingers. Indeed his tail is 
every way a very useful thing to have, for he twists it 
round the branch of a tree and swings himself across to 
another branch ; and when he is climbing, you can hardly 
tell what is tail and what is foot or hand, for he uses them 
all in the same way. 

Brasil is a large empire, containing the beautiful Ama¬ 
zon valley. It has a pleasant climate, and many fields of 
coffee, sugar-cane and cotton, besides rich diamond and gold 
mines. As there is no winter, the leaves do not all fall off, 


88 


OUR WORLD READER. 


and there are ripe oranges all the time. If you have ever 
seen the little plants that are kept in hot-houses, and bear 
a few oranges, you can think how beautiful are large trees 
with quantites of golden fruit, and rich clusters of white 
flowers that make the air sweet all around. 

And you would like to see coffee 
growing; for the bushes are very beau¬ 
tiful. They are as large as small plum 
trees, and have leaves of dark, shining 
green, and white flowers. The fruit is 
a soft, red berry, which contains two 
hard grains, the flat sides of which fit 
together and make it round. These 
berries are gathered in deep baskets, and 
carried to a great stone pavement, where 
the red, juicy part of the berry is rubbed 
off, and then the hard grains are spread out to dry. When 
dried, they are put in sacks, and sent to some coast-town, 
where vessels are ready to take them to other countries. 
Very good coffee is sent from a little town on the north 
coast, called La Guayra ; but much of the coffee used in 
our country comes from Rio Janeiro, a large city on the 
coast of Brazil, and the chief seaport of South America. 

The work on the plantations has been done till lately by 
negro slaves; but in 1888 the rulers and the people said 
there should be no more slaves in Brazil, and all men in 
that great country are now free. From Italy and from 
Spain men have liked to go with their families to live in 
Brazil, because the climate is as pleasant as their own, and 
they have more room. Now, since Brazil has freed her 
slaves, many more people from these countries go there to 
settle. 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


189 

In old times there was a great deal of silver sent from 
mines in the north-west of South America, among the 
Andes; and these mines are still worked. There are sev¬ 
eral large cities high up in 
the mountain-valleys, or on 
the table-lands. Quito is 
one of the largest of these. 

Peru , one of the largest 
states, is partly among the 
mountains. Lima is a 
handsome city, and in Peru 
are the ruins of those won¬ 
derful cities found by the 
early Spanish settlers. 

Here was the famous em¬ 
pire of Peru, which was 
long ago conquered by the 
Spaniards. When those 
rough soldiers climbed the 
mountains and found up 
here, not savages, but a 
gentle Indian people, with 
great roads and temples 
and palaces and gardens, they wondered greatly. 

In the mountains were gold and silver, and the Peruvians 
had made the palaces of their emperors or incas handsome 
with animals and plants made out of these precious metals. 

The incas bathed in basins of gold, and the water was 
led from the springs through silver pipes. They had 
pleasure-gardens too, and beside the living plants were imi¬ 
tations of them in gold. 

The Spaniards had not seen Indian corn in their own 



AVENUE OF PALMS IN RIO JANEIRO. 
















OUR WORLD READER. 


I90 

country, so the living plant was strange and new ; but when 
they saw the yellow ear made of gold and the broad leaves 
and light tassel at the top of silver, they thought it won¬ 
derfully beautiful; and indeed you would have thought so 
too. 

Besides the Indian corn, the Spaniards found the 
potato growing up on these mountains of Peru. They 
carried some of the plants to Europe, where people had 
never had potatoes before. 

In almost all the cities of South America, a stranger 
would be surprised to find so many churches partly in ruins. 
This is because of the earthquakes, by which in a moment 
strong walls are thrown down, and often many people 
crushed to death. Some years ago, there was a terrible 
earthquake at Caracas, a large city quite high up in the 
mountains, a few miles from the coast town, La Guayra. 

Valparaiso is the chief seaport on the western coast. 

On the mountains of South America grows a tree which 
is a great blessing to all people, but most to those who 
travel in unhealthful places. This is the tree that is 
called Cinchona, out of which the medicine called quinine 
or Peruvian bark is made. Without this good medicine, 
white men could not travel in Africa and see where the 
great rivers rise, or teach the poor natives. Without this, 
the Englishmen with all their soldiers would have to leave 
India and go home. But if a man has this medicine in 
his pocket, he feels much safer in dangerous climates. 

When the Spaniards conquered this country and had 
governors here, the wife of one of the governors, the good 
Countess of Cinchona, had a fever and was cured by a 
medicine made from the bark of this tree. She carried 
the bark home with her to Spain, that the sick people 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


191 

there might take it and get well; and so other people 
learned about this wonderful tree and called it Cinchona, 
from the good countess. 

It grew in the mountains as far south as Bolivia, but the 
natives did not know how to be careful of it, and did not 
understand how precious it was. They used to strip off 
all the bark from the tree, and then, as we all know, it 
could not live. If we should even cut a small piece of 
bark all round a tree it must die, for the sap could not run 
up to the branches and leaves, since its way is just be¬ 
tween the tough bark and the hard wood. There was 
danger that this good tree would die out altogether. 

Now the Dutch wanted to make it grow in their hot 
island of Java, where people would be ill without it, and 
the English wanted it in India, so men were sent to South 
American woods to take up some of the young trees and 
bring them away, and the seeds as well. This was not 
easy, for the trees grew in awful chasms and on the steep 
mountain-sides, and where icy peaks rise into the sky and 
where waterfalls tumble and roar in the deep gorges, over 
which the traveller must go on slender, swinging bridges 
of rope. The path is often so narrow that, as a man rides 
along, one leg touches the mountain and the other hangs 
over the deep abyss. It was hard to carry the little trees 
safely to the shore, and sometimes, after all, they would 
die ; but at last after patient trying, the English have made 
the good tree grow in India and the Dutch in Java. 

And they have found a wise way of taking off the bark, 
so that the tree is not hurt at all. A man makes a little 
cut as high as he can reach, and tears off a strip down to 
the ground. Then he leaves a space, and tears off an¬ 
other strip, and so on. And between the torn strips, the 



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TALKS ON THE MAPS. 

VIII. — South America. 


See the long range of mountains close to the western coast. What 
is its name? On the east is a long slope to the ocean. Here are the 
great rivers. How many are there and which is largest? Find the 
plains where great herds of cattle feed and where horsemen go out to 
catch them with a lasso ? Where shall we find the mines ? You will 
see that at the very southern point of South America there is an island. 
Vessels often go between this island and the mainland. What is that 
strait called? It is named from the man who first sailed through it. 


192 


OUR WORLD READER. 


sap can go up to the branches just as before. He ties 
some soft moss on the torn places, and in about twenty 
months a new bark has formed, which can carry the sap. 
Then the bark is torn off from the spaces between these, 
and so the tree is all the time growing the bark that 
makes the sick well. 

In the southern part of South America, on the Pampas 
or plains, great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are fed; 
so that many hides, sheepskins, horns and much wool, 
tallow, meat preserved in cans, and extract of beef for the 
sick, are all sent away from the city of Buenos Ayres near 
the mouth of the La Plata River. The soil here is good, 
too, and many people have come from Italy and Spain to 
raise wheat and maize. Here too, in this Argentine Re¬ 
public, the people are trying to have good schools, and 
have sent to our country for teachers. 

Patagonia is the name of the long strip of land that 
slopes to the south. It is a desolate, barren country, with 
a few scattered tribes of savages, who suffer from cold and 
hunger. It is dangerous to sail around Cape Horn, be¬ 
cause of the high, stormy winds and icebergs of the South¬ 
ern Ocean, and vessels often go through the Straits of 
Magellan. The cape does not reach far enough south to 
be among the icebergs : but sometimes one floats north¬ 
ward ; and, if it is night, a ship passing by may be crushed 
in a moment. Cape Horn is not a part of the main land, 
but the extremity of the island of Tierra del Fuego, which 
is separated from Patagonia by the Straits of Magellan. 

Lesson XXI. — What is said of the States in the northern part of 
South America? What does sugar come from ? What may be seen 
in the woods of Guiana? What is said of Brazil ? How does coffee 
grow? Where does much of our coffee come from? What mines 


FIRST LESSOA'S IN GEOGRAPHY. 


193 


in the Andes? What of the cities? What of Peru? Tell some¬ 
thing of the old empire of Peru ? What of earthquakes ? What use¬ 
ful tree grows on the mountains? What is said of the Pampas? 
What country in the South ? 


LESSON XXII. 

NORTH AMERICA. 

As this is our home, we wish to learn all we can about it 
and to remember all that we learn. Besides being our home, 
it is one of the largest and finest of the continents. You 
see that the land is longest from North to South, and lies 
in every zone. In this way it has every climate from very 
cold to very hot, so that it produces many kinds of useful 
plants. There are hot lands in the south for cotton, 
sugar, and rice. There are temperate lands for wheat, 
corn, hay, fruits, and forest trees, — such as hickory, ash, 
beech, walnut, cherry, oak, and others, which furnish hard 
wood for planks, houses, furniture, and boats. Farther 
north are pine woods and fur-covered animals. 

BRITISH AMERICA. 

The best part of North America belongs to the Ameri¬ 
cans, though the English have a large country called 
British America, comprising nearly all the northern part. 
This is generally cold and dreary, and thinly settled. 

The Mackenzie River runs through British America to 
the Arctic Ocean, and others flow into the great Hudson 
Bay. There are few towns or roads, and no steamboats on 
the waters; but there are some strong forts on Hudson 
Bay, with cabins near, where the men live who go there to 
buy furs from the Indian or white hunters. They keep 


194 


OUR WORLD READER. 


powder and shot, blankets, beads, knives, and such things, 
to give in exchange for the skins. These skins they send 
off by the St. Lawrence River to be sold and made into 
furs. 

A wild forest with many lakes reaches across the 
southern part of British America from the Ottawa river to 
Lake Winnipeg. West of this lake is a broad, fertile 
prairie to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Here are 
farmers planting oats, rye, wheat, and potatoes, and 
having nice, comfortable houses to live in. Many of them 
have come from England and like still to feel that they are 
on English land. The crops from these wide prairies are 
sent to Winnipeg, a large town on the Lake, with hand¬ 
some churches and schools, mills, banks, and hotels, — a 
fast-growing town out here in what was once a wilderness. 

At the foot of the mountains are great herds of cattle 
feeding where they will. There is a lively time when in 
spring and autumn the owners gather them in. 

A railroad runs all across this country from Montreal to 
Vancouver on the Pacific. Where it crosses the Rocky 
Mountains and then the Selkirks, there are very high 
peaks, and among the Selkirks are glaciers far larger than 
any in Switzerland. 

Along the St. Lawrence is quite a different sort of coun¬ 
try, called Canada, the best of the English possessions here. 
This is far enough to the south to be somewhat pleasant, 
though the winters are long and the snows deep. 

In the deep woods of Canada and Maine you might see 
the curious work of the little beavers. They have sharp, 
cutting teeth, and with these they cut through trees and 
branches, living on the soft inner bark of the willows, 
poplars and birches, or on roots and grass. It is wonder- 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


195 


ful to us that these little furry creatures, about two feet 
long, know so much. They make houses for themselves 
on the banks, or on a little island of a stream, and lay the 
poles together for it like an Indian wigwam. This they 
cover over with smaller sticks and with mud and grass. 



Inside is a room where you would see the grassy bed of 
the father beaver on one side, of the mother beaver on the 
other, and of the little beavers. There are two holes 
underground, — one is the way out, and the other is the 
way to the pile of food. This food is the sticks they cut 
in the summer; and these they have brought, one by one, 
to the water, and piled them upon the bottom, reaching 
quite above the surface, so that the weight keeps them 
down on the bottom till the ice comes and holds them 
fast. Then when the ice forms the food is shut in safely. 

The little beaver must always be sure that his food 
is under water, but he cannot be quite sure that some day 
the mountain stream will not be dry, and leave him with 
no sheltered way under water to his food pile. So the 
wise little fellow builds a dam across the stream to keep in 









96 


OUR WORLD READER. 


the water ; and this is indeed a great piece of work. The 
trees must be cut down by his sharp teeth, dragged to the 
stream, floated down and laid across, just in the right place. 
Then, on the up-stream side, brush must be filled in, and 
mud must be plastered on, till the dam is water-tight. 
The beavers know it is easier to bring their trees by 
water than by land, so they often dig little canals and 
float the trees along. People say when a man works well 
that he “ works like a beaver.” 

There are some large cities on the St. Lawrence, and 
ships sail up a long distance. Montreal is a pretty city, 
built on an island in the river; and Quebec is on the top 
of a huge, rocky cliff, that rises like a wall from the St. 
Lawrence. These are French names, and all through the 
country are farmers, — men and women with rather queer 
dresses, who speak a kind of mixed French. We should 
wonder how this could happen in English land, if we did 
not know that long ago, before the English gained posses¬ 
sion, French vessels had sailed up the St. Lawrence, and 
brought people to settle on its banks. 

After a time, the French and English in Europe began 
to fight, and the English colonies in America fought the 
French colonies; and, after a deal of trouble on both sides, 
the French colonies were given up to England, and still 
belong to her. 

THE ESQUIMAUX. 

That great north-eastern point of land, called Greenland, 
belongs to the Danes, who live in the north of Europe. It 
is one of the coldest countries in the world, and the most 
of it is always covered with snow and ice. 

Instead of busy merchants with trading vessels, only a 
few ships, with very brave, hardy captains, pass by, endea- 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


19 7 


voring to find an open way into the Pacific, or to reach the 
north pole. Some are so frozen into the ice that they never 
get out; and the men perish with cold and hunger. A few 
come home again, after trying two or three years to get 
farther north, having been frozen into the ice for months at 
a time. Whalers, too, often stop here. 

This country is so near the pole, that, for nearly half the 
year, the sun is not seen at all. The reason of this you 
cannot understand at present. Instead of the pleasant 



EIDER DUCKS. 


days and nights that we have, there is here one long day 
for many months, and then a tiresome, dark night, just as 
long. 

The people who live in this dreary land are called Esqui¬ 
maux. They make houses of snow, that look like great 
ovens, with only a little hole for a door; and they think 
only of getting food and clothes. 













198 


OUR WORLD READER. 


They pass the long day, or their summer, in hunting bears, 
gathering the down of eider ducks, spearing seals and 
whales, and sometimes going far over the waters in their 
little canoes to catch fish. On the land they often ride on 
sledges made of bone, and drawn by large dogs. Women 
and men work together, trying to get as many skins as they 
can, besides fat meat, and oil for their lamps, which they 
need in the long nights. 

These Esquimaux are a filthy people, and dozens of men, 
women, and children crowd together in one of the hovels. 
The only fire they have is a quantity of fish-oil burning in 
a lamp, and by this they cook their food. They all dress 
alike, in caps, coats, and boots made of skins. 

You must not think that these people stay indoors all 
the dark night. Though they cannot go far off, hunting, 
as in their day, they walk about in the keen night air, when 
the stars are shining clear and bright. And, besides the 
stars, there are other strange lights, such as shining balls 
and' crosses, gleaming like silvery flames in the dark sky. 
The most beautiful of all is a crown of rosy light all across 
the sky, called the Northern Light, or Aurora Borealis. It 
is a great comfort in the long nights. We sometimes see 
a very little of it here. 

I dare say the Esquimaux are glad to see the sun come 
back and stay a little longer every day, until there is one 
long, bright day again, and the sharp points of the huge 
icebergs glitter and sparkle grandly, and the snowy ground 
is dazzlingly white. 

Towards the south of Greenland the cold is not quite so 
severe, and a few stunted plants grow in the short summer. 
The people build their huts of pieces of wood that drift 
on shore from the ocean. There are some large villages, at 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


199 


which vessels stop for oil and other things, and where mis¬ 
sionaries go to teach the people. 

Far up in the northern corner of North America is 
Alaska, a country that belongs to the United States. It is 
a cold country. The high mountains rise steeply very near 
the sea, and the great glaciers, between their snow-covered 



ONE KIND OF SEALS. 


sides, flow into the ocean. The water is deep, and large 
pieces of ice are all the time breaking off from the glaciers, 
at the waters edge, with a noise like cannon. Then they float 
away and we call them icebergs. Mt. St. Elias is a grand 
mountain, one of the highest in the world. 

Here are found the fur-seals which give the sealskin for 
ladies’ cloaks and muffs. But we must not think of the 






200 


OUR WORLD READER. 


seal as swimming about in a sealskin coat such as these 
His coat is not glossy and dark, but covered with stiff hair 
of a dull grayish-brown. Under this stiff overhair lies the 
soft fur; and much time, with careful work, is needed to 
take off the coarse hair, without hurting the skin and soft 
fur beneath. Even when that is done, the fur, which is of 
a light brown, is dyed several times, until at last the soft, 
glossy fur is ready to wear. The best dyeing is done in 
London. It is not hard or at all dangerous to kill the poor 
seals—for at some seasons they come up in great numbers 
to the shore to take care of their young. The seal, you 
remember, although it finds its food in the sea, must come 
up to the air to breathe. 

Lesson XXII. — Why should North America be rich and well peo. 
pled? What part belongs to England? What is said of it? What 
is said of Canada ? What might you see in the woods ? What cities 
there? Why are there many French people in Canada? What kind 
of country is Greenland ? What people live there ? How do they 
live? What is the Northern Light? What of the south part of 
Greenland ? What is said of Alaska? 


LESSON XXIII. 

MEXICO. 

All the middle part of North America is our own ; but 
south of the United States is quite a large country, called 
Mexico. 

Long ago when the people in the Old World first found 
this great Western Hemisphere, a number of Spaniards 
sailed from the islands where they had first landed, through 
the Gulf of Mexico, to the land on the other side of the 
gulf. This was a warm, beautiful country, covered with 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


201 


rich forests and bright flowers. They troubled themselves 
very little about the people already there, because they 
believed, that, having found this new country, it was theirs 
by right; at any rate, they intended to take it for the King 
of Spain. 

These men landed on the coast, where they saw a dark- 
skinned people, somewhat like the islanders, half naked and 
very ignorant. But, as they went farther into the country, 
they came to villages where the people were better clothed, 
had houses to live in, and often spoke of a great city and 
a powerful king for whom they seemed to have much fear 
and respect. 

When the Spaniards learned these things from their in¬ 
terpreters, they were in a great hurry to reach this wonder¬ 
ful city; and as they were bold, hardy men, with a fierce, 
brave captain to lead them, they did not mind difficulties. 
They climbed up the mountains, and made long, tiresome 
marches through the woods, forcing the natives to show 
them the way. 

I cannot tell you all the troubles the Spaniards had, nor 
all the cruel things they did. At last they reached the 
top of a high ridge; and all at once, on the other side of 
the mountain, the most splendid view they had ever 
imagined was spread before them. 

A beautiful, level valley stretched out for miles, with a 
wall of faint blue mountains rising around it. Sparkling 
streams wound about through groves of palms and fruit- 
trees ; and far below them, in the midst of this plain, was 
a great city, with houses, streets, and large temples orna¬ 
mented with gold and silver. 

The Spaniards were filled with wonder. In the islands 
and other known parts of the continent there were only 
painted savages, with skins for clothes, and huts of bark ; 


202 


OUR WORLD READER. 


who knew nothing about building, nor weaving, nor books. 
But here, shut in among the mountains, were those strange- 
looking Mexicans, with a king, and temples for their gods ; 
and who could make cloth, ornaments of gold and silver, 
and vessels of earthenware, and even had a kind of picture¬ 
writing. 

The white men had expected to find great quantities of 
gold in the new world that had been discovered, and now 

rich city below. Here was 
treasure at last; and they 
determined to lay hold of 
whatever they could find. 

Long, bloody fights took 
place. There were a great 
many Mexicans, and only a 
few white men : but the 
Spaniards had steel swords 
and guns, and wore coats 
of steel, or armor , on their 
bodies; while the Mexicans 
knew nothing of gunpow¬ 
der, had only bows and ar¬ 
rows, and wore light cot¬ 
ton clothes; so that, while 
they fell by hundreds, their 
arrows could not go through 
the armor of the Span¬ 
iards. 

After that time, Span¬ 
iards settled in different parts of the country, and some¬ 
times mingled with the natives ; so that now, though the 
people are called Mexicans, and have nothing to do with 


looked eagerly down upon the 









Mexico is chiefly in the torrid zone, and resembles the 
Southern States. Oranges, bananas, and cocoanuts grow 
there, and great quantities of prickly-pear, which is very 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 2Q ^ 

Spain, they all speak Spanish, instead of the language of 
the old Mexicans. Scattered tribes of Indians still wan¬ 
der about in the wild places among the ridges of the 
Rocky Mountains. 





















































TALKS ON THE MAPS. 

IX. — North America. 

On the western side see the long range of the Rocky Mountains. 
There is a short range on the east. What is its name ? Between 
these mountain ranges we should expect to see a great river. And 
what do we find ? Look at the mouth of the Mississippi. You will 
see that just at that point the land comes out a little into the 
Gulf of Mexico. That tells us that the river and all its branches have 
been washing away soft earth and sand from the banks and carrying them 
to the ocean. When the river reaches the ocean the mud settles at 
the bottom and so, little by little, more land is built up about the mouth 
of the river. How does the water of the Great Lakes reach the 
ocean ? Find the country where the Esquimaux live ? Has any one 
ever sailed across the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic to the Pacific? 
Why not ? Put your finger on the little strip of land which holds 
North America and South America together. What would be the use 
of cutting a canal across this strip of land ? 


204 


OUR WORLD READER. 


useful on account of a tiny bug that feeds on it. From 
these bugs a beautiful red dye is made, called cochineal ' 
which is used for coloring candy and many other things. 
The prickly-pear is planted in long rows ; and the bugs 
increase until the leaves are quite covered with them. 
Then they are carefully brushed off, killed by heat, packed, 
and sent to other countries. 

The Mexicans do not care as much for schools as we do, 
and the children know very little about other lands; but 
they are all very fond of singing and dancing. These 
people like fine clothes and jewelry ; and gentlemen have 
their saddles and bridles made very gay with gold, silver, 
and colored fringes. 

Mexico is the largest city, and Vera Cruz is the chief 
seaport. 

That narrow part of North America vjhich lies between 
Mexico and the Isthmus is called Central America, and 
the people are much like the Mexicans. Many vessels go 
there for the wood of the mahogany tree, which is so much 
used. 

The Isthmus of Panama is only a few miles wide; but 
these few miles made a tedious journey before the railroad 
was built, because of the high mountains, which travellers 
to and from California dreaded crossing on mules. 

A canal has, you remember, been already cut through 
the Isthmus of Suez which joins Africa to Asia, so that 
ships going from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean no 
longer have to sail all the way around Africa. How con¬ 
venient it would be to have such a canal cut through the 
Isthmus of Panama ! Then ships need not take the long 
dreary way round Cape Horn. This canal will not be so 
easy to make as the African canal, for the land is higher. 


Page 205 THE united states and Canada. 

This shows how this country might look to a little bird high up in the sky, if he could see very far. 



9 



























































































































































































































































206 


OUR WORLD READER. 


More than one canal has been planned and partly built, 
and before many years ships will probably be sailing 
through from one ocean to the other. 

Lesson XXIII.— What part of North America did the Spaniards 
first find? What people did they find? What did the Spaniards 
learn as they went farther into the country? What did they do? 
What did the natives think of them ? What did they find at last ? 
How did the Mexicans differ from them? What plants in Mexico? 
What is cochineal ? What is said of the people ? What is the 
largest city? The chief seaport? What is said of Central America? 
What of a canal ? 


LESSON XXIV. 

THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES. 

Our Country. — All the vast middle lands found on 
the map of North America, with Alaska in the Northwest, 
belong to the Americans, as the people of the United 
States are called. 

Many people have come here from old and crowded 
countries, and have moved on farther and farther from the 
coast of the Atlantic, until now they are scattered over 
all the great space reaching from ocean to ocean, and from 
the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico. Over all 
these thousands of miles are railroads and turnpikes, and 
steamboats on the rivers, so that people can travel quickly 
to far-off places. 

As the Indians were driven back by the white men, they 
moved farther west to find new hunting grounds. They 
do not like to live in towns ; and though a few tribes have 
learned to live like white people, and many have died out, 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


207 


there are many tribes left in the forests and plains near 
the Rocky Mountains, where the country is still covered 
with woods and wild prairie-lands. 

These people loved their homes as we love ours, and 
their own way of living, although it was not at all like 
ours. But they have had to move farther and farther, 
as the white man pressed behind. We were great and 
strong, and should have taken care of them in some wise 
and kind way. But we have not done so. And so some 
of the tribes have killed the men who had built their 
houses far out on the lonely prairie and have done many 
cruel things, knowing no better,— and soldiers had to be 
sent out to bring them to order. 

People have now begun to think there must be some 
better way than this and are trying to find one. Our 
government is asking the Indians now to let their girls and 
boys come to our schools to be taught. There are several 
of these schools for the Indians, in Virginia, Pennsylvania, 
Oregon, Nebraska, the Indian Territory, and in other 
places, and more than 9000 children are learning our ways. 
Very few tribes seem to hate us now. 

We have given to each tribe also some land for its own, 
and no white man must go there to trouble the Indians or 
to take their land away. There are several of these Indian 
countries, called Reservations, because the land is kept or 
reserved for them alone. There are large Reservations in 
New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Montana, besides the large 
Indian Territory, and there are many smaller Reservations. 

Small settlements of our own people are scattered about 
over the far western country, in some places forming vil¬ 
lages, or neighborhoods; while in others there are only 
lonely farms, or here and there hunters’ huts, many miles 


208 


OUR WORLD READER. 


apart. Such parts of the country as these are not called 
States, but Territories. 

All the great space belonging to us between the Atlantic 
and Pacific oceans, is divided into States or Territories of 
different sizes ; and on the Atlantic coast is the long row 
of the old States that were first settled, and that fought the 
English on one side, and the Indians on the other, when 
the rest of the country was still forest land. There are 
only three States on the Pacific coast —California, Oregon 
and Washington. 

More than a hundred years have now passed since the 
American colonies united, and made a nation of them¬ 
selves. As they had come from the same country, and 
spoke the same language, they managed to agree upon a 
certain number of laws or rules to govern all the States, 
which were then called the United States of America. 
But, even at first, some persons were not entirely satisfied ; 
and as years went by, and new States farther west and 
south were added to the old ones, and new laws were made, 
it was still harder for all to be pleased with the laws that 
the States agreed to obey. Therefore there was much 
arguing and disputing from time to time, and one or two 
laws especially caused great trouble. Some of the States 
wanted one thing, and some another, and gradually gathered 
into parties, which began to dislike and abuse each other 
all they could. For a time, the best and wisest men tried 
to keep them at peace, knowing that, unless all our States 
were united, we should no longer be a powerful nation. 
But at last the Southern or Slave States declared they 
would leave the Union, and make laws for themselves. 
The other States insisted that they had no right to do this, 
and that the nation should not be broken up. So we have 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


209 


had a terrible war in our beautiful country, and all has been 
difficulty and confusion \ but we now have peace again, 
with our States once more united, and with no longer any 
slavery in our free land. 

Lesson XXIV. — Where are the United States? What of the 
country around the Rocky Mountains ? What has become of the 
Indians? What are the thinly settled parts of the country called? 
Where are the oldest States? What States on the Pacific coast? 
How long since the colonies united? Why have we had a war lately? 


LESSON XXV. 

THE ATLANTIC STATES. 

These States lie in the strip of land between the Alle- 
ghanies and the ocean, which slopes down from the mount¬ 
ains to the water. The parts near the sea are often sandy 
or marshy. On the sand grow pine woods. Toward the 
mountains the soil is richer, and produces fine fields of 
grain in the middle portion, and cotton in the southern. 

When the early settlers came over to look for homes in 
the New World, they staid, as was natural, near the sea- 
coast where they landed ; and thus it happened that the 
first part of our country settled was this long strip of land 
which lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. 

In those days, men were not used to sailing across the 
ocean, and did not always know just where they might 
land. So the Pilgrims, instead of coming to a warm, 
pleasant land, such as Columbus, or even the Virginia set¬ 
tlers, had found, reached a rough, bare coast, all dreary 
with snow and ice and east winds. But they were brave, 


210 


OUR WORLD READER. 


firm-hearted men, who did not come pleasure-seeking : 
so they set about building their houses, and fighting the 
Indians, and they bore hunger and suffering of all kinds 
with steady courage, and soon they came to love their land 
as well as if it had been always warm and bright. 

More and more settlers came, until all that part of the 
coast is now even more thickly peopled than the southern. 

Here is plenty of work for all; for, though there are no 
rich cotton or tobacco lands, there are, fortunately, many 
little streams running down the slope from the moun¬ 
tains, which, tumbling over rocks in their way, make excel¬ 
lent waterfalls. So all sorts of mills and factories have 
been built for sawing planks, weaving cloth, making paper, 
and many other things ; and these give work for thousands 
of hands. 

Besides this, there is the great ocean, with good bays, 
and snug stopping-places for steamers and sailing vessels 
loaded with goods from France, England, and other 
countries. Here, then, is more business, — buying and 
selling the sugar, .coffee, &c., that come in, and loading and 
unloading the ships. 

Then, too, the useful things from abroad must be sent 
to the people living away from the sea, and exchanged for 
their grain and other products: so here is more business 
still, and railroads are needed in all directions. 

Thus it has happened that this part of the country is 
now all alive with thousands of busy, bustling people, and 
covered with great cities, charming villages, and pretty 
cottages, dotted down on the hillsides and in the valleys. 

There are six States here, which together are called 
New England. 

The most northern of these States is Maine, and it is 


FIX ST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


211 

also the largest and least settled. Most of the towns are in 
the southern part, where there is a long seacoast, with ex¬ 
cellent harbors, and large rivers running into them. 
Toward the north, almost all the land is still covered with 
great forests : but every year the woodmen go deeper into 
these woods, where trees have never been cut before ; for 
Maine people think, as they have a long seacoast and good 
harbors, they cannot do better than use their great forests 
for ship-timber and lumber. So parties of woodmen go up 
the streams, and live in tents or huts by their banks while 
they are getting the logs ready to float down, very much 
as they do in the old country. 

Then there is work for the streams to do; for their 
waters turn the wheels of many a mill, cutting the big 
logs into boards and planks. Much of the lumber is sent 
off to other places, where there are no forests; and the 
rest is used in those seaports, where ships are built, and 
launched upon the ocean. 

Augusta is the capital of the State. Bangor is quite a 
large city, noted for its lumber trade; but Portland is the 
great seaport, and has a busy trade. The people find their 
long coast convenient for fishing as well as ship-building. 

Next to Maine are New Hampshire and Vermont, one 
with very little seacoast, and the other with none. But 
there are great forests ; and these, with high mountains, 
lakes, and little streams leaping in waterfalls down the 
hillsides, make a country so beautiful, that it is common, 
in summer, for people from the large cities, miles away, to 
journey in pleasure-parties to the White Mountains in New 
Hampshire, or to Vermont, where the hills are so covered 
with woods to their very tops, that they are called the 
Green Mountains. After the short summer, the streams 


212 


OUR WORLD READER. 


are frozen, the hillsides covered with deep snows, and the 
winters are long and hard; but I have heard little folks 



COASTING IN VERMONT. 

say, that, for skating and sliding and coasting, no country 
in all the world can be better. 

Besides the mountains and forests, there is plenty of 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


213 

farming land, and the farmers are famous for their fine 
sheep and cows. 

Montpelier is the capital of Vermont; but there are no 
very large cities. Burlington is prettily situated on Lake 
Champlain. 

Concord is the capital of New Hampshire, and Ports¬ 
mouth is its seaport ; but the largest city is Manchester, 
with its long rows of factories. You may have heard of 
Manchester prints. 

The other three New England States are Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and Connecticut; all a good deal alike in 
many things. They are small States,— Rhode Island is the 
smallest in the Union, — and are so thickly settled, that 
often the pretty, neat-looking villages are not more than a 
mile or two apart; and the country houses are so near to¬ 
gether, that there is only room for small farms. Since 
there is so little land, and that not very rich, we see at once 
that the thousands of busy people who crowd the large 
cities, or have homes in the thriving villages, or build the 
country houses, cannot live by farming. There are many 
more people in these little States than in some which are 
much larger; and all these hands and heads must find work 
in factories, in trading, in ship-sailing, in fisheries, and in 
such ways. 

In most of these towns there are little streams of water, 
near which we are sure to see tall chimneys, and hear the 
puffing noise of steam-mills and the whirling of machinery. 
In the great brick factories, thousands of men, women, and 
children are busy every day, making cotton and woollen 
cloths, glass, nails, screws, and many other useful things ; 
and all this is done so wonderfully fast, that it is almost like 
fairy work, and beautiful to see. Most of these things are 


214 


OUR WORLD READER. 


sent from the town where they are made to the large cities, 
where they are sold to merchants from different parts of 
the country, or sent off on vessels across the sea. Millions 
of pairs of shoes are made every year in the towns of 
Massachusetts to send to all parts of the Union. 

It was on the coast of Massachusetts that the Pilgrims 
first landed, and made the little town of Plymouth ; but, 
when more settlers came, they found a fine harbor farther 
up the bay, and began to build Boston. This is now the 
largest city in New England, with new streets and long 
rows of houses. There are some cities in our country larger 
and busier than Boston, but none with more schools and 
libraries, or better educated people. 

Springfield and Worcester are quite large cities in the 
middle part of the State. Lowell with its busy factories is 
on the Merrimack. 

Hartford and New Haven are the largest cities in Con¬ 
necticut. Hartford is the capital. It is on the Connecticut 
River, in the central part of the State. New Haven, on the 
south shore, is famous for its beautiful elms. Both cities 
have important manufactures. 

The little State of Rhode Island has two capitals, — 
Providence, a thriving city, and Newport, a favorite sum¬ 
mer resort. 

The largest river in New England is the Connecticut, 
which rises far northward, and runs south, separating Ver¬ 
mont and New Hampshire, and passing through the middle 
of Massachusetts and Connecticut into Long-Island Sound. 

South-west of New England are the middle States, — 
New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. 

New York is a very large State, and reaches so far west, 
that there is room for great wheat fields and pastures. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


215 


Many barrels of flour and quantities of butter and cheese 
come from the farms of New York. This State is just in 
the line of travel from west to east, so that it has many 
railroads and a large canal. Besides being open to the 
Atlantic Ocean, it has a long coast on the large lakes, Erie 
and Ontario Some ridges of the Alleghanies run through 
New York, and the beautiful River Hudson flows through 
the eastern part. 



NEW YORK FERRY-BOAT. 


New York City, at the mouth of the Hudson, is the 
largest city in America, and the best known in other lands. 
The country all round is rich and thickly settled, and there 
is a good harbor for vessels. Thousands of merchants 
from different parts of the inland States go to New York 
to buy new supplies of goods ; and ships from abroad come 
here, where their cargoes can be sold quickly, and where 
they can be loaded with cotton, grain and other American 
products, to carry back to their own countries. There is 












216 


OUR WORLD READER. 


always a forest of masts in the bay ; and, every day, vessels 
come from and sail for all parts of the world. This is not 
only the busiest but the gayest of our cities, and every kind 
of amusement is to be found. 

Albany, the capital of the State, is on the Hudson, and 
at the end of the great Erie Canal, which runs through 
the whole State. By means of this canal, which joins Lake 
Erie with the Hudson River, the vast produce of the West 
can be carried by water to the Atlantic Ocean, although 
the railroads now carry most of this. 

Buffalo is on Lake Erie, and near the celebrated Falls of 
Niagara. 

New Jersey has a long seacoast for its size ; but the shore 
is lined with little islands and sand-bars, which prevent ves¬ 
sels from coming near; therefore we find no large towns 
on the seacoast. The Jersey people cannot trade much 
over the sea; but they have some large factories, and their 
land is just suited for fruit. From their orchards come 
every year fine apples, delicious peaches, pears and cher¬ 
ries. 

Trenton, the capital, is on the Delaware River. 

Delaware, the smallest State except Rhode Island, has 
no seaport; but it has a great many flour-mills and much 
fine wheat. Dover is the capital, but is not so large a city 
as Wilmington. 

Pennsylvania has no seacoast ; but Delaware Bay runs 
up from the ocean, and receives the water of a large river 
of the same name. Philadelphia is a handsome city on this 
river. 

The Alleghany Mountains run through this State, and 
are full of iron and coal. Hard coal is found in the east¬ 
ern part of the state. This burns slowly, but with a strong 


FIRST LESSORS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


217 


and steady heat, and makes little smoke. In the western 
part of the State is the soft coal country, and here is the 
city of Pittsburg, where tall factory chimneys are smoking, 
and big fires glowing day and night. You all know how 
useful coal is; for, to say nothing of our grates and stoves, 
the huge factory fires would long ago have burned up all 
the wood that could be easily got. And then our burning- 
gas is made from coal; and, besides all this, from the black, 
smutty coal, people now make beautiful dyes for silk and 
wool, such as we often see in our ribbons. 

Not very long ago, it was found out that by boring deep 
down into the earth and rock, at certain places in Penn¬ 
sylvania, streams of oil would burst out. A great many 
people soon rushed to look for this wonderful oil; and now 
there are many oil-wells, not only in that State, but also 
in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as in several 
other States. I dare say the very youngest one among you 
has heard of petroleum , from which we have our kerosene 
oil. Near the petroleum wells a kind of gas has burst out 
from the earth, which burns as well as the gas we make 
from coal, and people have only to carry it in pipes into 
their houses where it is used for cooking and heating. 
This is called natural gas, and is found, like the petroleum, 
in other States as well as in Pennsylvania. 

The southern half of this Atlantic slope reaches down 
into a warm climate ; and, as the rich land had never been 
cleared when the first settlers came, they had good reason 
to be charmed with this wonderful new country. Thick 
forests spread over it for miles and miles, and among the 
tall trees all manner of shrubs and plants sprouted up 
rankly from the rich soil. Often whole thickets were bound 
and woven in with heavy coils of grape-vine; and the wild 


218 


OUR WORLD READER. 


jessamine hung in long festoons from tree to tree, and 
trailed from the high branches, making the air sweet with 
the rich odor of its yellow blossoms. In the sandy flats 
were great forests of pines, and under the dark green trees 
thousands of gay-colored flowers. Even now, the Carolina 
children know where to look for treasures in the “pine 
barrens.” 

Pleasant as this was, the settlers had troubles enough at 
first ; for they had no houses, no food, and had many 
quarrels with the Indians; but they 
soon found maize, or corn, growing 
finely, which gave them plenty to eat, 
with but little work. They learned 
the use of tobacco from the Indians, 
and after a time raised great quan¬ 
tities of it, which they sent to 
Europe, and sold for good prices. By 
and by, they found that the soil and 
climate were just suited for cotton, 
so that there was work enough for 
all who would come ; and in time the 
country around was pretty well cov¬ 
ered with tobacco-fields, corn-fields, 
and cotton-fields, and divided into the States of Maryland, 
Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 

Now these States have large cities, and send out vessels 
to all parts of the world ; for, besides the cotton and tobacco, 
rice comes from South Carolina; and the pine woods of 
North Carolina furnish tar and turpentine, and staves for 
hogsheads and barrels. From the leaves of the pine trees 
or “pine needles ” comes, too, what is called “pine wool,” 
used for mattresses, carpets and mattings. 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


219 


Maryland is almost divided by Chesapeake Bay ; and 
near the head of the bay is Baltimore, one of our large 
cities. Annapolis, the capital, is also on the bay, and has 
a naval school, where boys are fitted for the United-States 
navy. 



NATURAL BRIDGE, VIRGINIA. 


The old State of Virginia is now divided into two 
States, called Virginia and West Virginia. Richmond, on 
James River, is the capital of Virginia ; and Wheeling, on 
the Ohio, is the capital of West Virginia. 




220 


OUR WORLD READER. 


The western part of Virginia is mountainous, and in 
many parts very picturesque. Here is the famous Shen¬ 
andoah Valley, where so many battles were fought during 
the Civil War, with the wonderful caverns of Luray; and 
in this part, too, is the Natural Bridge, one of the most 
striking natural curiosities in the world. 

Maryland and Virginia are especially the tobacco States. 

They are separated by the Potomac; 
and just between them, lying on the 
eastern side of the river, is a small 
piece of land called the District of 
Columbia. This belongs to the whole 
country ; and here is Washington, our 
national capital, where the President 
lives, and where there is a large, fine 
building called the Capitol, in which 
the Congress of the United States 
meets to make laws for the whole 
country. The members of Congress 
are chosen by the different States for 
this purpose. 

Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina. There are no 
good harbors in this State, because of the little islands and 
sand-bars along the coast. Wilmington is almost the only 
seaport. 

Farther south, in South Carolina, is Charleston, one of 
the largest Southern cities. Large steamers run constantly 
between Charleston and New York, and vessels sail from 
there to other parts of the world. Savannah, in Georgia, 
on the Savannah river, is another quite important seaport. 

Florida, as you see on the map, is a long, narrow penin¬ 
sula. We owe almost the whole of it to the industrious 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


221 


little coral animals; and they are still busy, clay and night, 
at their slow but sure work, building up new reefs and 
islands along the coast. All the southern part is very flat, 
— so flat and low, that there are great marshes called 
everglades. Here, since it is very warm, as well as moist, 
there is a thick growth of trees and plants that belong in 
tropical countries. 

The first settlement on the continent of America was 
made at St. Augustine by the Spaniards. They were so 
delighted with the rich, bright plants everywhere, that they 
called the country Florida , or flowery. 

Many people go to Florida in the winter to enjoy the 
pleasant climate, and at Jacksonville and St. Augustine 
are large hotels. New towns are springing up all through 
the State, except in the most Southern parts. Orange 
groves have been planted, and now Florida oranges are 
among the best we have. 

Lesson XXV. — Where are the Atlantic States? What part of 
our country was first settled ? Why ? Where did the Pilgrims land ? 
How did they succeed? What of that part of the coast now ? How 
are the people employed? What do ships bring to New England? 
What can they carry from it to other countries ? Why are railroads 
needed ? Which State is the most northern of the New-England 
States ? What is said of it? What work do the people find to do? 
What cities in Maine? What States next to Maine? What is said 
of New Hampshire and Vermont ? What amusements for children 
in the long winters? For what are the farmers famous ? What is 
said of the cities? What are the other New-England States? Give 
the names of all the New-England States? Which is the smallest? 
What is said of these last three? What do the people do in these 
States? What becomes of their manufactures? Where did the 
Pilgrims land ? Where is Boston ? What is said of it ? What other 
cities of Massachusetts are mentioned? What cities in Connecti¬ 
cut? What is the capital ? What cities in Rhode Island ? Where is 


222 


OUR WORLD READER. 


the Connecticut River? What States south-west of New-England? 
What is said of New York ? What lakes touch it ? What mountains 
and river in the eastern part? What is said of New York City? 
What is the capital of the State ? Where is Buffalo ? What is said 
of New Jersey? What of Delaware? Of Pennsylvania? Where 
is Philadelphia? Where is Pittsburg? For what is coal used? 
What is petroleum ? What is the climate of the Southern Atlantic 
States? What did the first settlers find there? What troubles had 
they? What did they raise? What States in this part of the 
country? What comes from South Carolina? What from the pine 
barrens? What bay in Maryland ? Where is Baltimore ? Annapolis ? 
Where is Richmond ? How has Virginia been divided ? What is tne 
District of Columbia ? What city there ? What is said of it ? What 
is said of North Carolina? Where is Charleston? Savannah? What 
is said of Florida? Why was it called Florida? What town did the 
Spaniards first build ? 


LESSON XXVI. 

THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

As the Atlantic States became thickly settled, and 
people still came from the Old World, some of them began 
to make their way over the Alleghany Mountains to the 
country beyond. A few went because they liked the wild, 
lonely hunter’s life in the forests ; others because they 
were eager for new adventures ; and still more because 
they could get plenty of land for little or nothing. Often 
whole families, who did not mind a hard, rough life, would 
pack up all they had in one or two wagons, and set out for 
a long journey through pathless woods, — the men on 
horseback, the women and children in the wagons; camp¬ 
ing out at night, cooking and eating by a fire of logs and 
dry branches, until at last they chose a place for a home. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


223 


As they generally chose a spot where the land was good 
and water plenty, other families soon settled near them ; 
living at first in log-huts, clearing the land for corn-fields, 
and fighting more or less with the Indians. If a man were 
industrious, he would, after a little while, build a large 



IMMIGRANT WAGON. 


wooden house. And as you ride through Ohio and 
Indiana you will often see, on a large farm, beside his nice, 
comfortable house, the little log cabin which the settler 
built first. So, town after town has grown up, roads have 
been made, forests cut down, and States divided off 
throughout the great central valley, from the Alleghanies 
to beyond the Mississippi river. 

THE GULF STATES. 

The most southern States border on the Gulf of Mexico, 
which is as good as a sea-coast. Besides Florida, which 











224 


OUR WORLD READER. 


also borders on the Atlantic, there are Alabama, Missis¬ 
sippi, Louisiana, and Texas. All these, together with 
Arkansas, just north of Louisiana, are cotton States. 
You can remember also that some of the finest cotton in 
the world is raised on the islands 
along the coast of South Carolina and 
Georgia, and is called Sea-Island cot¬ 
ton. 

The cotton-plants grow very large 
in the hot sun ; and in the fall, when 
the brown burs burst open, the fields 
are white with the cotton, that pops 
out in balls as big as one’s fist. It is 
then picked, cleaned of its seeds, and 
pressed into great bales. Many thou¬ 
sands of these bales are sent to Eng¬ 
land to be woven into cloth, besides 
what is woven here at home in the 
Northern States. In the South the people are busy plant¬ 
ing, and have not now as many factories. 

Alabama is one of the chief cotton-raising states. When 
packed, the cotton is shipped from Mobile, a large city, 
on a bay of the same name near the Gulf. 

There are also large cotton plantations in Mississippi, 
but no very large towns ; for in those States the climate is 
not very healthful, and many people do not care to live 
there. 

In Louisiana there are large plantations, where thou¬ 
sands of hogsheads of sugar and molasses are made every 
season. Some of these are carried up the Mississippi and 
its branches, on steamboats, to the towns on the banks. 
The greater part, however, is sent to New Orleans, the 



FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


225 


largest city in the South. It is not far from the mouth of 
the Mississippi; and not only steamboats from the river, 
but ships from all parts of the world, go there. There are 
people enough to make a large city, in spite of the climate; 
but all who can, go away for the summer months as the 
city at that time is not very healthful. 

There are many swamps and lakes in Louisiana, and the 
earth is thrown up in banks to keep off the water of the 
river. When one of these levees , as they are called, 
happens to be broken through, the water rushes upon the 
land beside the river and washes away everything in its 
path. 

This State once belonged to the French, who settled 
there in old times; and, though it is now one of the 
American States, there are many French families in New 
Orleans, — sometimes whole neighborhoods of them to¬ 
gether ; and this makes it a little different from our other 
cities. 

Texas is a very large State. There are great numbers 
of cattle and wild horses on the prairies. Many farmers 
and cotton planters have settled in the State ; but summer 
droughts are frequent and severe, so that both, men and 
cattle often suffer. 

Galveston is the largest city. 

Lesson XXVI. — Why were the States beyond the Alleghanies 
settled ? How did the first settlers travel ? How did towns grow 
up? Which are the Gulf States? What grows there? What is 
said of the cotton plants ? Where is the cotton sent ? What is said 
of Alabama? Where is Mobile? What is said of Mississippi? 
What plantations in Louisiana ? What becomes of the sugar ? What 
is said of New Orleans? What are levees? What nation once 
owned Louisiana ? What is said of Texas ? 


226 


OUR WORLD READER. 


LESSON XXVII. 

THE INLAND STATES. 

We now have left, in the middle of the continent, the 
States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, 
North and South Dakota, and Nebraska. These States 
are in one of the most beautiful countries in the world : 
some parts are hilly, and covered with noble forests; 
others level, with waving corn and clover fields. The 
eastern valleys are shut in by mountains, rising in the 
distance, dim and blue; and toward the western prairies 
the land spreads out smooth and wide. Everywhere large 
rivers and hundreds of little streams water the land. 
Large cities are rapidly growing up; and all over the tract, 
where, not many years ago, the wild Indian roamed, are 
scattered towns and villages; while fields of grain, large 
pastures and orchards, cover their hunting grounds. 
This region is only partly cultivated, but already sends 
supplies of food all over the land, and to the crowded 
countries of the Old World. Besides the vast amounts of 
grain, a great many mules, horses, cows, sheep, and hogs 
are raised. 

Tennessee and Kentucky, on the east side of the Missis¬ 
sippi, are much alike. They have no sea-coast, no fishing, 
no vessels, except the steamboats on the rivers, and no 
factories ; but they have very fine, rich farm-land, besides 
plenty of coal and iron in the eastern part, where the 
mountains are. The people plant corn, wheat, tobacco, 
and some cotton, and have fine mules and horses. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


227 


Nashville, on the Cumberland River, is the capital of 
Tennessee, and Memphis is quite a large city on the Mis¬ 
sissippi. Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky; but 
Louisville, on the Ohio River, is the largest city, and has 
much trade; for the railroad from the east to Nashville 
and Memphis passes through it, making a great deal of 
travel; and steamboats bring sugar, molasses, cotton, etc., 
from the Southern States up the Ohio, and exchange them 
for dry-goods from the north. 

There are many caves in the soft limestone of this part 
of the country; and in Kentucky there is one so large, 
that it is called the Mammoth Cave. Many persons visit 
it, and go in several miles under the ground, sometimes 
crossing little streams in the cave. Torches are carried to 
give light, and the sparkling rocks which hang overhead 
glitter like icicles in the torchlight. 

Ohio is one of the pleasantest and most thickly peopled 
of the inland States. There are a great many hogs, 
horses, and sheep; and this is the great State for pork. 
Hundreds of thousands of hogs are killed at Cincinnati, 
and the meat packed in barrels and boxes to send to 
different places. Candles and lard are also made; even 
the hair of the hogs is put to use, and of their bristles all 
sorts of brushes are made. 

Cincinnati is the largest city. It is on the Ohio River, 
just in the line of travel from the South to the North and 
East, and has a large trade. 

Columbus is the capital, and Cleveland is a large city 
on Lake Erie, from which steamers start for Buffalo in 
New York. 

Michigan lies right in among the great, beautiful, blue 
lakes. It reaches quite far north, where it is too cold for 


228 


OUR WORLD READER. 


good farming land; but among the bare-looking rocks 
around Lake Superior are quantities of copper, which is 
very useful, and here are the richest copper mines in the 
world. 

Detroit is the city through which trade with these 
copper lands is carried on. 

Other inland States are Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, 
east of the Mississippi; and, on the other side, Minnesota, 
Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South 
Dakota. Most of these have a great deal of beautiful 
prairie land, and raise quantities of grain. In several of 
them are large lead, coal, and iron mines. There is a 
strange mountain in Missouri, of nearly pure iron. 

St. Louis on the Mississippi, and Chicago in Illinois, 
have grown very rapidly, and have become large and 
wealthy cities. Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, St. Paul, 
Minneapolis, and Kansas City are flourishing cities. 

Minnesota and Kansas have large farms, and their chief 
cities have much trade; for people are constantly leaving 
the crowded Eastern States to go west, where land is 
plenty and cheap. 

You can find the capitals of all these States on your 
maps, and must remember that the capital of a State is not 
always its chief city, but is often selected because it can be 
easily reached from all parts of the State, though it may 
not have advantages for trade or manufactures. 

Lesson XXVII. Give the names of the Inland States, and tell 
what is said of the country. What do other countries get from this 
region ? Where are Tennessee and Kentucky ? What do the people 
do in those States ? What cities in Tennessee? What in Kentucky? 
What is said of caves ? What is said of Ohio ? What is said of 
Cincinnati ? What other cities are mentioned ? Where is Michigan? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 2 2g 

What is found on the shores of Lake Superior? What is the chief 
city? What other States east of the Mississippi River? What 
States west? What of these States? Where are St. Louis and 
Chicago? What is said of Minnesota and Kansas? Where is the 
capital of a State usually found ? 


LESSON XXVIII. 

OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 

For a long time, the wild country toward the Rocky 
Mountains was left to the Indians and a few hardy hunters 
who followed the deer and buffaloes ; for it was rather 
dreary and unpromising. But by and by some of the 
hunters and straggling adventurers began to cross the 
Rocky Mountains, and travel over the broad country 
which lay beyond; for these mountains are quite a dis¬ 
tance from the Pacific. These men brought back tales, 
from time to time, of the wide valleys and table-lands, the 
ridges of mountains, deep ravines, large rivers, and pleas¬ 
ant climate, on the other side of the mountains. 

Occasionally some persons went to California or Oregon, 
and for a long time Spanish missionaries had been there 
teaching the Indians ; but all at once it was found out that 
there was a great deal of gold in the Sierra Nevada Moun¬ 
tains, and then there was a great rush to California. Men 
went from all parts of the world, English, French, and 
Germans, making the long voyage round Cape Horn, 
before there was a route across the Isthmus of Panama. 
Soon women and children followed, and nothing was heard 
of but gold and California. The people who found gold 
wanted better houses to live in, plenty to eat, and good 
clothes to wear, so there was soon much to do in building 


230 


OUR WORLD READER . 


houses, planting wheat and corn and vegetables, and mak¬ 
ing clothing. Streets were laid out, and churches built; 
and before one could believe it possible, a large city stood 
all alone on the western coast, and steamships were sailing 
regularly over the Pacific Ocean. 

So many people went to live in California, that those on 
both sides of the mountains began to think they must find 
some way to have news from each other and to reach each 
other more quickly. Up to this time, if a man in New 
York wanted to go to California, he must sail to the 
Isthmus of Panama, go across by the railroad, and then 
take another steamer to sail along the coast to San 
Francisco. Heavy goods, which could not easily be 
moved, were carried round South America, and the voyage 
took many months. There was also an overland route by 
which people went sometimes; but it was dangerous be¬ 
cause of the Indians, and so they travelled in large 
companies, somewhat in the manner of caravans. And 
often they suffered much from hunger and thirst. The 
horses died along the way, and sometimes the men too. 
For two years there was a Pony Express. 

Brave men rode day and night as fast as a horse could 
go, and when one reached a station he tossed his bag to 
another who was all ready to start. So the letters went 
over the mountains ; but there was danger from Indians, 
and danger from robbers, and it cost ten dollars to send 
such a letter as we can now send for two cents. After 
that, the telegraph wire was stretched across, and the 
ponies ran no more. 

A railroad was needed, but how could a railroad go 
across with the great range of the Rocky Mountains in 
the way ? And if these could be passed, the Sierra Ne- 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


231 


vadas would be just as bad, or even, perhaps, a little worse. 
It would be a hard task, for the mountains were high and 
bleak. There were deep gorges, at the bottom of which 
were rushing streams. Dreary deserts, too, were in the 
way, where nothing would grow, and Indians, who lay in 



RAILROAD IN THE SIERRAS. 


wait and were ready to kill. Then the snows were deep in 
winter, and would slide down from the heights in great 
masses and bury all beneath. 

But the men at the East thought we must have a road 
to California, however hard it might be to build; and so at 




232 


OUR WORLD R DA DDR. 


last the railroad was begun at Omaha on the Missouri 
River, in Nebraska. The people in California wanted a 
road even more than those in the East. So they began to 
dig and to build at their end. But their country was new. 
They had not learned where to find the iron to make the 
rails and the shovels to dig with. So these things had 
to be carried in ships all the way round Cape Horn, 
and sometimes there were thirty ships on the sea at once, 
carrying things for the railroad. 

The Californians crossed easily the pleasant valley of the 
Sacramento River and climbed the steep Sierra Nevada 
Mountains little by little, building strong bridges over the 
the deep chasms; and where the snow might slide down 
and bury the cars, there they built over the track a strong 
snow-shed, so that the trains might run along in a safe 
house. And now the great snow-slides rush over the roofs 
and do no harm. For full forty miles they covered the 
track in this way. They dug through the hills, and when 
they could not well go round a mountain, they cut a tunnel 
through it — often all the way through hard rock. 

All this took hard work and much time, and there were 
not many laborers in California then who were willing to dig 
on a railroad. But at this time the Chinese began to come 
across the Pacific Ocean in large numbers, from their crowd¬ 
ed home in China, and they helped. As the men from the 
East and the men from the West came nearer together, 
bringing their iron track along, people felt as if they could 
not wait for the glad time, when the tracks should meet. 
The men who were at work felt so too, and tried to see 
which could lay the most track in a day. The Califor¬ 
nians laid in one day ten miles of track, and won; but it 
took four thousand men to do it. 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY . 233 

At last the two roads met in the north-west corner of 
Utah. There was great joy when the last rail was laid, 
and the telegraph told, in all the cities, the good news that 
there was a railroad quite across our country, from sea to 
sea. 

There are now several other roads to the Pacific, with 
branches in different directions. Men are digging into 



A PRAIRIE-DOG TOWN. 

the mountains for ore and making wheat grow in the 
places we once called deserts, so that what was a short 
time ago a strange and lonely country, is now becoming 
pleasant with the homes of men. 

Let us now take the train at Omaha on the Missouri 
River, and go over the mountains to the Pacific. Soon 
the land will begin to rise as we go up the valley of the 
Platte River. We shall cross wide prairies, and in some 
parts we shall see all over the plain the little prairie dogs, 
sitting on their hind legs at the doors of their burrows. 
And as we come near, with a jerk of the tail they will dive 
into their holes, but will soon come peeping out again to 
see what is the matter. They are fat little animals of a 




234 


OUR WORLD READER. 


grayish color and about sixteen inches long, and though 
they are not real dogs, but more like big rabbits, they 
make a little yelping cry like a puppy. A great number 
live together on the prairie and feed on roots and grass. 
Pretty as they are, they would not make good pets, for they 
bite one’s fingers and are not trusty ; neither do they live 
long in our houses. 

Over this high, dry plain at the foot of the mountains, 
roam great herds of cattle. They are branded with the 
mark of their owner, but they take care of themselves in 
the cold storms of winter, as well as in summer, and feed 
on the buffalo grass which grows in clumps everywhere. 
This grass is very rich and good even when it is quite dry. 
There are great flocks of sheep too, but these must have a 
shelter in the snow-storms. 

I am afraid we shall not see any buffaloes, for there are 
not many left. 

Now we come to high mountains, as we enter the south¬ 
east corner of Wyoming. On our left is the State of Colo¬ 
rado, with its high peaks covered with snow. This State 
has so many great mountains, deep gorges or canons, 
pretty waterfalls, hot and cold springs, that travellers go 
there to see the fine sights, and people who are ill go to 
breathe the air and to get well again. 

And we, too, will stop at Cheyenne and pass a few days 
in Colorado, looking at this great chain, from Long’s Peak 
in the north to Pike’s Peak in the south. We shall want 
to see the beautiful parks where great rocks stand in 
strange shapes ; we must go to the Garden of the Gods with 
its high red rocks, like sentinels at the gate; and we must 
see the cataracts falling from point to point down into the 
deep canons. In one of these the Arkansas River breaks 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


235 


through the mountains between cliffs almost two thousand 
feet high. 



And then we will go back to 
Cheyenne to the railroad and 
keep on our way westward. We 
soon reach the highest point 
over which we have to go, and 
we shall be ’disappointed to find 
it is not a peak at all, but looks 
like a wide stretch of pasture- 
land. But if you look carefully 
on the map, you will see that 
from the place where we are, in 
the southern part of Wyoming, 
rivers flow north and south and 
east and west. That tells us 
that this is a very high point, as 
rivers must always flow down 
hill. 

And we, too, must go down 
a little, but among high moun¬ 
tains still. Here are great cliffs 
worn into strange shapes, like 
pulpits and cathedrals, and we 
shall be told that this is the fin¬ 
est scenery on the whole road. 

Now we come to the hand¬ 
some Salt Lake City, settled by 
Mormons, whose ways are quite 
different from ours. We shall 
want to bathe in the Lake, where the water is so salt that 
it buoys one up more even than the water of the sea, so 



236 


OUR WORLD RRADER. 


that you cannot well sink, even if you have not yet learned 
to swim. 

Then we take the train again, and go west over a dreary 
plain, called the Great American Desert. Here only gray 
sage-brush grows, and you will not see a farm-house, an 
animal, a bush or a tree. Crossing Nevada, we come 
to more salt-lakes, from which no river runs out ; but 



A GREAT TREE IN CALIFORNIA. 


aft<_ passing over this dull country, we reach the grand 
range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and we know we 
are in California; for this range runs from north to south, 
through the eastern part of the state. When we go 
through the long snow-sheds we cannot see anything, but 
as soon as we come out, there will be great mountains all 
around. And now we come down to the Sacramento 
River, and crossing this fruitful and pleasant valley, we 




MIRROR LAKE, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 


Page 237. 





























238 


OUR WORLD READER. 


are soon in San Francisco, at the end of our journey, and 
by the shore of the great Pacific Ocean. 

We shall see that we may call Wyoming, Montana, 
Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico 
our Rocky Mountain States and Territories. All have fine 
mountain scenery, but in the north-west corner of Wyo¬ 
ming, and on the edge of Idaho and Montana, is a region 

so wonderful that our gov¬ 
ernment is going to keep 
it always open for the peo¬ 
ple to enjoy. It is called 
the Yellowstone National 
Park, and is more than six¬ 
ty miles long and more than 
fifty miles wide. Boiling 
springs shoot up out of the 
earth with a roar, and send 
the hot water high up in 
the air. Around the Park 
stand the guarding moun¬ 
tains, their tops covered 
with snow, and waters fall 
through the narrow canons 
in beautiful cascades. 

Among the Rocky Moun¬ 
tain States and Territories, 
Arizona and New Mexico are so far south that the weath¬ 
er is warm and the plants different. Cactuses with queer, 
ugly shapes and handsome flowers grow here. There are 
large Indian reservations, especially in New Mexico, and 
these Indians are peaceable and mean to do no harm. 

As there are mines of gold and silver, lead and copper 






FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


239 


and iron among the mountains, many of the people will 
always be miners ; but there are also at the foot of the 
mountains rich farms and good pasture for cattle. 

Lesson XXVIII. — What of the country near the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains ? What lies beyond ? Where was gold found ? What happened 
then ? What city was built ? What is said of it ? How did people 
at first go to California ? How do they go now ? What is said of the 
first railroad ? Describe the journey on this road ? What are the 
Rocky Mountain States and Territories? Which are farthest south? 


LESSON XXIX. 

THE STATES ON THE PACIFIC. 

California, Oregon and Washington are the States on 
the Pacific coast. California, which was first settled by 
those who went for its gold, is now much more valuable 
for the grains and fruits raised on its rich soil and in its 
pleasant climate. The wheat alone sent away from the 
State in one year is worth twice as much as the gold. In 
the south there are beautiful orange groves; grapes of 
wonderful size grow on the hillsides for wine, and dried, 
make nice raisins. The olives are made into olive oil, as 
is done in Italy and Spain. Roses and geraniums bloom 
all the year in the open air. One thousand blossoms may 
sometimes be counted on a single geranium bush, and a 
fuchsia has been seen climbing all over the long piazza, 
reaching the second story of a house and covering even 
the roof with its handsome red flowers. Currants, cherries 
and pears, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins are of a size 
truly wonderful. The great wheat-fields are a beautiful 
sight when they are waving with yellow grain in July. 


240 


OUR WORLD READER. 


The crop is gathered by machines and sometimes the 
grain is reaped and threshed by one machine driven by 
twenty horses, hitched ten abreast. 

The great trees of California are some of its most won¬ 
derful sights. One of them is so large that a carriage 
with four horses can drive easily through the hollow trunk, 
with plenty of room all around, and some are taller than 
very high church-spires. (See cut on page 236.) 

Travellers seldom go to California without making a 
journey to the Yo Semite valley not far from San Francis¬ 
co, and people often come long distances to see these 
grand mountains, deep valleys, and lovely waterfalls. 

Oregon and Washington have a very mild and beautiful 
climate, although they are as far north as the northern 
New England States. This is because a current of warm 
water from the south-west bathes their shores and brings 
warm air with it. Portland, in Oregon, is a fine city on a 
wide river which runs into the Columbia near its mouth. 
There is plenty of room for great ships and steamboats at 
its wharves. Toward the mouth of the Columbia are 
warehouses where great quantities of salmon are put up in 
cans to send away. These fish run up the rivers in the 
spring, and it is at this time that they are usually caught. 

In Washington, Olympia is the chief town. It is so 
easy to reach these towns now by railroads that people 
who do not like to live in the middle of the country, where 
the summers are very hot and the winters very cold, go to 
the Pacific shore to enjoy its pleasant air and fine scenery. 

Lesson XXIX. — What are the Pacific States? What is said 
of California? What of its fruits ? Of its grain ? Of its great trees? 
Why do people go to the Yo Semite valley ? What is the climate of 
Oregon and Washington? What is the chief town in each? 


FIRST LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 


24I 


TALKS ON THE MAPS. 

X. — United States. 

[The Map is at the beginning of the book.] 

This map represents our own country. Children want to know 
most about their own country, so this map is made the largest in the 
book. Here are a great many states and you see they are separated 
from each other on the map by straight lines. It is not so in other 
countries where men have fought with their neighbors for the land and 
like to have rivers or mountains between them. The people in all 
these states are countrymen, and send a few men to one of the cities 
to rule and to make the laws. Put your finger on the city where these 
menmeet. Which part of our country was first settled? Wheredid these 
people come from ? Where does the cotton grow ? Which State has 
the best coal mines? Name the States on the Pacific coast? Why 
did people from the east go there at first ? What is the largest city 
on that coast? From this city to what lands do steamers sail? A 
steamer crosses over to Japan in about three weeks. Which state 
looks the largest? And which the smallest? Do you think the 
largest state has the most people ? Put your finger on the city that 
has the most people and which sends most vessels across the sea 
to other countries. Where does the wheat grow ? How is it carried 
from the wheat fields to this great port ? What is sent away from 
New Orleans ? Find the dot that stands for that city. 


APPENDIX. 


Here is a list of books for children. They tell much that is in¬ 
teresting about far-off countries. 

Marco Polo : His travels and adventures. G. M. Towle. 1880. 
Underfoot. L. D. Nichols. 

We and the World. (Adventures.) J. W. Ewing. 1880. 

Swiss Stories. J. Spyri. 

When I was a Boy in China. Yan Phou Lee. 

Cast Away in the Cold. (Arctic Adventures.) 

Feats in the Fiord. (Norway.) Miss Martineau. 

Uncle Titus. J. Spyri. (Switzerland.) 

Heide. J. Spyri. “ 

Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates. (Holland.) M. E. Dodge. 1866. 
In the Golden Shell. (Palermo.) L. Mazzini. 1872. 

Little Lucy’s Wonderful Globe. C. M. Yonge. 

Little People of Asia. Olive Thorne Miller. 1883. 

A Guernsey Lily. (Channel Islands.) Susan Coolidge. 1887. 

Carl’s First Days. (Story of a German boy who comes to America.) 
1879 - 

Seven Little Sisters. Jane Andrews. 

Each and All. Jane Andrews. 

Three Greek Children. Alfred J. Church. 

Ten Boys who lived on the Road from Long Ago to Now. Jane 
Andrews. 

Nelly’s Silver Mine. (Colorado.) H. H. 1878. 

Boys of other Countries. Bayard Taylor. 1876. 

Mr. Bodley Abroad. H. E. Scudder. 1880. 

The Bodley Grand-children and their Journey through Holland. H. 
E. Scudder. 1882. 

The Viking Bodleys. (An Excursion into Norway and Denmark.) 
H. E. Scudder. 1885. ’ 

A Family Flight through Mexico. 

Juan and Juanita. (A story of two Mexican Children.) Frances C. 
Baylor. 1888. 



Presswgrk by 
GINN & COMPANY, 
Boston. 




GEOGRAPHIES, GLOBES, AND MAPS 


Our World, No. I. / or, First Lessons in Geography. 


By Mary L. Hall. Small 4to. 119 pages. Mailing Price, 55 cents; 
Introduction, 50 cents; Allowance, 15 cents. S ee Announcements. 



impressions of the different countries and inhabitants of the 


earth, rather than to tax the memory with mere names and details. 


Our World. No. II. J or, Second Series of Lessons in Geography. 


By Mary L. Hall. With fine illustrations of the various countries, the 
inhabitants and their occupations, and two distinct series of Maps, 5 
pages physical, and 19 pages political, of finely engraved copper-plates. 
4to. 170 pages. Mailing Price, $1.65 ; Introduction, §1.50 ; Allowance 
for an old book in exchange, BO cents. 

The Fitz Globe . 


Six-inch Globe (for introduction).$ 12.00 

Twelve-inch Globe (for introduction) . . . ? . 25.00 


No charge for packing. 

rpiIIS globe clearly illustrates all the phenomena produced by 
the sun’s relations to the earth, and is the first globe to illus¬ 
trate the sun’s daily course, or indicate the interval of twilight, 
or represent one’s horizon, without falsifying the existing relation 
of the earth’s axis to its orbit. 

The apparatus of the mounting is equally ingenious and simple. 
It is strong, and cannot get out of order. The maps and all the 
workmanship of globe and mounting are of the best description. 

The Handbook which accompanies the Globe contains full 
directions for its use. 

12mo. 120 pages. Mailing Price, 60 cents. A free copy is sent loith 
each Globe . 








142 


GEOGRAPHY. 


The Joslin Terrestrial, Celestial, & Stated Globes. 


Six-Inch Globe (Terrestrial or Celestial), Semi-Frame, retail .... $5.00 
Nine-Inch Globe (Terrestrial or Celestial), Semi-Frame, retail .... 12.00 

Twelve-Inch Globe (Terrestrial or Celestial), Semi-Frame, retail . . . 17.00 

Mounted in Full Wood Frames, and suited to the working of problems, 
$4.00 more on each Globe. Slated Globes of each style. 15 per cent less. 
No charge for packing. Liberal discount to the trade, and to schools. 


Johnston's Wall Maps. 


Engraved by W. & A. K. Johnston, Edinburgh, Scotland. The whole 
series is of uniform and convenient size; namely, 50 x 42 inches. Any 
map sold separately. If returned free of expense, a set will be sent for 
examination. Retail Price, $4.00 each; Introduction, $3.50 each. Intro¬ 
duction Price for three or more, $3.00 each. If mounted separately on 
spring rollers, $1.50 extra per map; if on spring rollers, in a case, (.0 
cents extra per map for the mounting, and $4.00 additional for the case. 

DOPTED by nearly every School Board in Great Britain, and 



by over five thousand schools in the United States. 

They are the most complete, handsome, and substantial school 
maps ever published. 

They can be used in connection with any text-book on geography. 
Names are all engraved in plain Roman letters. No key required. 
They are engraved on copper-plates, and therefore lines and let¬ 
ters are shown with great beauty and distinctness. They have 
heavy cloth backs, are mounted on rollers, and are varnished; the 
best material only being used. 

Political Geography.—* Eastern and Western Hemispheres (one Map). 

* World, Mercator’s Projection. Eastern Hemisphere. Western Hemi¬ 
sphere. * Europe. England. Scotland. Ireland. British Isles. Canada, 
Nova Scotia, etc. * United States. South America. France. Spain and 
Portugal. Italy. Central Europe. Orkney and Shetland. *Asia. India. 

* Africa. Cape Colony. * America. North America. Australia. New Zea¬ 
land (in Counties). Pacific Ocean. 

Classical and Scriptural Geography. — Caesar de Bello Gallico. Orbis 
V eteribus Notus. Italia Antiqua. Grmcia Antiqua. Asia Minor. Orbis 
Romanus. Travels of St. Paul. Outline Map of Countries bordering on 
Mediterranean. Canaan and Palestine. Bible Countries. 

Physical Geography.—World, in Hemispheres. Europe. Asia. Africa. 
America. [Those starred may be had as Outline Maps.] 


Outline Maps. 


Prepared for purposes of Instruction and Examination. Now ready: 
Greece, Greece and Italy, Europe, United States. Each, about 8 x 12 
inches. Retail Price, 3 cents. 





GEOGRAPHY. 


143 


Footprints of Trauel; or, Journeyings in Many 


Lands. 


By Maturin M. Ballou, author of Due West , Due East, Due North , 
Under the Southern Cross, and other books of travel. 12mo. 370 pages. 
Illustrated. Cloth: Mailing Price, $1.10; for introduction, $1.00. Boards: 
Mailing Price, 80 cents; for introduction, 70 cents. 



work is presented as a supplementary reading-book in real 


geography. It aims to furnish reading-matter which shall 
interest and instruct the pupils, and at the same time help them 
master an important branch of school study. It is valuable also for 
the light it throws on history, and as a means of general culture. 

The author depicts foreign countries and famous cities, describ¬ 
ing land and ocean travel all over the world, in a manner calculated 
to fix geographical and other facts upon the mind of the reader by 
their pleasant association with charming scenery, historic events, 
and vivid adventures. 

Though this book is so comprehensive, still the author writes 
of no islands, continents, or seas, no remarkable monuments of 
interesting localities, which he has not personally visited. The 
story of an eye-witness has an accuracy and a charm which in¬ 
formation at second or third hand cannot possess, and in this 
case we have not only an eye-witness, but one of exceptional quali¬ 
fications. As Mr. Whipple, the eminent critic, said, “Few men 
have travelled so extensively as Mr. Ballou, and certainly none 
have done so more intelligently.” 

The itinerary embraces, after a journey across the continent 
from Boston to San Francisco and a visit to the Yosemite Valley, 
the Sandwich Island Group, Japan, China, Singapore, Penang, 
Ceylon, Australia, with Tasmania and New Zealand, India, the 
Red Sea and Egypt, the Suez Canal, Malta and Gibraltar, Tangier, 
Spain, France, and Italy, the northern cities of Europe, Denmark, 
Norway, Sweden, Russia, England, Ireland, and Scotland; with the 
Bahama Islands and the West Indies, on the return voyage across 
the Atlantic. 

The whole forms a programme of travel remarkable for its gen¬ 
eral interest and the amount of information imparted in a con¬ 
densed and attractive form, and of hardly less value to the teacher 
for what it suggests than for what it states. 



144 


GEOGRAPHY. 


J. W. Anderson, Supt. of Schools, 
San Francisco, Cal.: Had I the 
power, I would have it in every 
school library in the State. It is the 
kind of work that should be on our 
shelves to supplant much of the 
trashy stuff that now fills them. It 
will be a most excellent supplemen¬ 
tary reader. {Feb. 11,1889.) 

E. H. Long, Supt. of Schools, St. 
Louis, Mo.: I find the book very in¬ 
teresting and instructive, and believe 
it will be very useful for the purpose 
for which it is designed. 

{Jan. 17, 1889.) 

C. P. Rogers, Supt. of Schools, Mar¬ 
shalltown, la.: I am greatly pleased 
with it. It is just what our geogra¬ 
phy classes need for supplementary 
reading. {Feb. 14, 1889.) 

J. Fairbanks, Supt. of Public 
Schools, Springfield, Mo.: It is a 
charming book, and properly taught 
would make one of the finest read¬ 
ing-books in our schools,—geogra¬ 
phy, history, reader, story-book. It 
is so suggestive. A live teacher will 
find a mine of information in it, and 
with it can make geography and his¬ 
tory interesting. {Jan. 21, 1889.) 

Lyde Kent, Supt. of Public Schools, 
Jacksonville, III.: Whatever tends to 
arouse in children a liking for geog¬ 
raphy, I rejoice in. This, your book 
will do. The teacher to whom I gave 
it reports it as very helpful, the pu¬ 
pils being much interested in read¬ 
ing the portion relating to their work. 
{Feb. 7, 1889.) 

Henry Raab, recently State Supt. 
of Schools, Illinois: I find that it will 
supplement the teaching of geogra¬ 
phy in an appropriate manner. It 
cannot fail to make scholars enthusi¬ 
astic in the study of geography. 
{Jan. 24, 1889.) 


W. N. Hailmann, Supt. of Public 
Schools, La Porte, Ind.: I am highly 
pleased with the book, and shall in¬ 
troduce it as a supplementary read¬ 
ing-book in our grammar grades. 
{Jan. 29, 1889.) 

A. R. Sprague, Prin. of High 
School, Racine, Wis.: I go so far as 
to say that I believe this book would 
be an excellent foundation for geog¬ 
raphy work, supplemented by abun¬ 
dant use of the atlas and illustrations 
drawn from the teacher’s own read¬ 
ing, which should, of course, be co¬ 
pious. {Jan. 29, 1889.) 

Geo. W. F. Price, Pres, of Nash¬ 
ville College for Young Ladies, Nash¬ 
ville, Tenn.: I have been much 
pleased with it as an excellent book 
for keeping alive the interest of 
pupils, stimulating a taste for good 
reading, and filling their minds with 
valuable information. {Jan. 29,1889.) 

E. E. White, Supt. of Schools, Cin¬ 
cinnati, 0 . : I shall recommend the 
Footprints of Travel to our teachers 
of geography. {Feb. 12, 1889.) 

Edward Smith, Supt. of Schools, 
Syracuse, N. Y.: It seems to me to 
be the best book ever published for 
awakening interest in geography and 
a love for reading. {Jan. 25, 1889.) 

S. T. Dutton, Supt. of Schools, Neio 
Haven, Conn.: An excellent work 
for supplementary reading. 

{Jan. 29, 1889.) 

J. N. Bartlett, Supt. of Schools, 
Nero Britain, Conn.: I have exam¬ 
ined it with unusual pleasure and 
satisfaction. The book is admirably 
written for the purpose designed. 

J. M. Smith, Supt. of Schools, Ban¬ 
bury, Conn.: In real interest and 
value, such books greatly exceed the 
usual style of reading-matter hereto¬ 
fore supplied to scholars. 



ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


3 


CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. 


In forming the mind and taste of the young , is it not better to use 
authors ivho have already lived long enough to afford some guaranty 
that they may survive the next twenty years ? 

“ Children derive impulses of a wonderful and important kind 
from hearing things that they cannot entirely comprehend.” — Sir 

Walter Scott. 



is now some five or six years since we began publishing the 


Classics for Children, and the enterprise, which at first seemed a 
novel one, may fairly be said to have passed the stage of experiment. 

It has been the aim to present the best and most suitable litera¬ 
ture in our language in as complete a form as possible; and in 
most cases but few omissions have been found necessary. Whether 
judged from the literary, the ethical, or the educational standpoint, 
each of the books has attained the rank of a masterpiece. 

The series places within reach of all schools an abundant supply 
of supplementary reading-matter. This is its most obvious merit. 

It is reading-matter, too, which, by the force of its own interest 
and excellence, will do. much, when fairly set in competition, to 
displace the trashy and even harmful literature so widely current. 

It is believed also that constant dwelling upon such models of sim¬ 
ple, pure, idiomatic English is the easiest and on all accounts the 
best way for children to acquire a mastery of their mother-tongue. 

A large portion of the course has been devoted to history and biog¬ 
raphy, as it has seemed specially desirable to supplement the brief, 
unsatisfactory outlines of history with full and life-like readings. 

The annotation has been done with modesty and reserve, the 
editors having aimed to let the readers come into direct acquaint¬ 
ance with the author. 

The books are all printed on good paper, and are durably and 
attractively bound in 12mo. A distinctive feature is the large, 
clear type. Illustrations have been freely used when thought de¬ 
sirable. The prices are as low as possible. It has been felt that 
nothing would be gained by making the books a little cheaper at 
the expense of crowding the page with fine type and issuing them 
in a style that would neither attract nor last. 

The best proof of the need of such a course is the universal 
approbation with which it has been received. 


4 


ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


/Esop’s Fables. 

Edited by J. H. Stickney, with a Life of H£sop, and a Supplement con¬ 
taining fables from La Fontaine and Krilof. xvii + 204 pages. Illus¬ 
trated. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. 
Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. 

Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales. 

Edited, for school and home use, by J. H. Stickney. 

FIRST SERIES: Supplementary to the Third Reader, for children 
from eight to twelve years of age. viii + 280 pages. Illustrated. Mail¬ 
ing Prices: Cloth, 55 cents; Boards, 45 cents. For introduction: Cloth, 
50 cents ; Boards, 40 cents. 

SECOND SERIES: Supplementary to the Fourth Reader, for children 
from ten to fourteen years of age. 352 pages. Illustrated. Mailing 
Prices: Cloth, 55 cents; Boards, 45 cents. For introduction: Cloth, 50 
cents; Boards, 40 cents. 

Kingsley’s Water-Babies. 

Edited by J. H. Stickney. 200 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing 
Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. 

The King of the Golden Riuer; or , The Black 

Brothers. 

By John Ruskin. A legend of Stiria. 54 pages. Illustrated. Boards : 
Mailing Price, 24 cents; for introduction, 20 cents. Cloth: 30 and 25 cents. 

The Swiss Family Robinson. 

Edited by J. H. Stickney. viii + 364 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mail¬ 
ing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth, 60 and 50 cents. 

Robinson Crusoe. 

The famous English Classic. Edited for Supplementary Reading in 
Schools, by W. H. Lambert. 263 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 
cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. 

Kingsley’s Greek Heroes. 

Edited by John Tetlow, Head Master of the Girls’ High and Latin 
Schools, Boston. 185 pages. Illustrated. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 
cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 55 and 50 cents. 

Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare. 

Measure for Measure has been omitted. 320 pages. Boards: Mailing 
Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth : 60 and 50 cents. 










ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


5 


Scott's Tales of a Grandfather. 

Being the history of Scotland from the earliest period to the close of the 
reign of James the Fifth. Abridged by Edwin Ginn, vi + 28(5 pages. 
Boards : Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 
and 50 cents. 

The Peasant and the Prince. 

By Harriet Martineau. viii + 212 pages. Illustrated. Boards: 
Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: Mailing 
Price, 55 cents; for introduction, 50 cents. 

Scott’s Lady of tjw Labe. 

Edited by Edwin Ginn. 268 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 40 cents; 
for introduction, 35 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. Canto I., 5 cents. 

Scotty Lag of the Last Minstrel 

With map. Edited by Margaret Andrews Allen. 150 pages. Boards: 
Mailing Price, 35 cents; for introduction, 30 cents. Cloth: 45 and 40 
cents. 

Aduentures of Ulysses. 

By Charles Lamb, vii + 109 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 30 cents; 
for introduction, 25 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduc¬ 
tion, 35 cents. 

Stories of the Old World. 

Prepared expressly for this Series by the Rev. Alfred J. Church, M.A., 
author of Stories from. Homer , Livy , Virgil , etc. 354 pages. Boards: 
Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 
cents. 

Plutarch’s Liues. 

From Clough’s Translation. Edited by Edwin Ginn, with Historical 
Introductions by W. F. Allen, xvi + 333 pages. Illustrated. Boards: 
Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: Mailing 
Price, 6# cents; for introduction, 50 cents. 

ScotVs Talisman. 

Edited by Dwight Holbrook, Principal of Morgan School, Clinton, 
Conn., with an Introduction by Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. xii +454 
pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 60 cents ; for introduction, 50 cents. 
Cloth: 70 and 60 cents. 










0 


ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


Scott’s Quentin Durward. 

Edited for this Series, with an Historical Introduction, by Charlotte 
M. Yonge, of England. 312 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; 
for introduction, 40 cents. Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. 

truing's Sketch Book. 

With full Notes, Questions, etc., for Home and School Use. By Homer 
B. Sprague, Ph.D., and M. E. Scates, formerly of the Girls’ High 
School, Boston. 126 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 30 cents; for intro¬ 
duction, 25 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 40 cents; for introduction, 35 
cents. 


Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. 

Hudson and Lamb. 115 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 30 cents ; for 
introduction, 25 cents. Cloth: 45 and 40 cents. 

The Arabian Nights^ 

Selections, edited by Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D. Illustrated. 
376 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 5© cents; for introduction, 40 cents. 
Cloth: 60 and 50 cents. 

The Vicar of_ Wakefield. 

Edited with Notes, for use in Schools. 238 pages. Boards: Mailing 
Price, 35 cents; for introduction, 30 cents. Cloth: 55 and 50 cents. 

Scott’s Guy Mannering. 

Edited with Notes, and a Historical Introduction by Miss Charlotte 
M. Yonge. 525 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 70 cents; for introduc¬ 
tion, 60 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 85 cents; for introduction, 75 cents. 

Scott’s luanhoe. 

Edited with Notes, and a Historical Introduction by Miss Charlotte 
M. Yonge. 554 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 70 cents; for introduc¬ 
tion, 60 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 85 cents; for introduction, 75 
cents. 

Scotty Rob Roy. 

Edited with Notes, and a Historical Introduction by Miss Charlotte 
M. Yonge. viii + 507 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 70 cents ; for in¬ 
troduction, 60 cents. Cloth: 85 and 75 cents. 










ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


7 


Tom Brown at Rugby. 

By Thomas Hughes. Edited by Clara Weaver Robinson, with a 
Sketch of the Author’s Life hy D. H. Montgomery, xiii + 387 pages. 
Boards: Mailing Price, 60 cents; for introduction, 50 cents. Cloth: 
Mailing Price, 70 cents; for introduction, 60 cents. 

Benjamin Franklin. 

His Autobiography, with Notes, and a continuation of his Life compiled 
chiefly from his own writings. By D. H. Montgomery. Illustrated. 
viii + 311 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 50 cents; for introduction, 40 
cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 60 cents; for introduction, 50 cents. 

Gulliuer’s Travels. 

The Voyage to Lilliput and the Voyage to Brobdingnag. By Dean 
Swift. ix + 162 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 35 cents; for introduc¬ 
tion, 30 cents. Clbth : Mailing Price, 45 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. 

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. 

By Dr. Samuel Johnson, with a Sketch of the Author, viii +157 pages. 
Boards: Mailing Price, 35 cents; for introduction, 30 cents. Cloth: 
Mailing Price, 45 cents; for introduction, 40 cents. 

Selections from Ruskin. 

Edited by Edwin Ginn, with Notes and a Sketch of Ruskin’s Life by 
D. H. Montgomery, xxv +148 pages. Boards: Mailing Price, 35 cents; 
for introduction, 30 cents. Cloth: Mailing Price, 45 cents; for introduc¬ 
tion, 40 cents. 

OTHER BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Which may he mentioned in connection with the Classics for Chil¬ 
dren are: — 

Washington and His Country. 

Irving’s Life of Washington, abridged by Prof. John Fiske, with an 
Introduction and a Continuation, making the work a complete classic 
history of the United States. See description under History. 

Pilgrims and Puritans . 

True Stories of the Early History of New England. See description 
under History. 

English History Reader. 

See description under History. 

Footprints of Travel; or, Journeyings in Many Lands. 

See description under Geography. 

The Our World Series of Geographies. 

See description under Geography. See also Announcements. 







8 


ELEMENTARY ENGLISH. 


THE SERIES OF CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN 

JJAS been most cordially approved by the press and the critics, 
and endorsed by teachers, superintendents, and school boards. 
The books are in wide use (1) as regular readers, (2) as supple¬ 
mentary readers, and (3) in school and home libraries. Out of 
hundreds of testimonials we can present but a very few r : — 


The Critic, New York: A capital 
series. 

Education, Boston: These hooks 
are remarkably cheap, well printed, 
well edited, and should have an ex¬ 
tended use. 

William H. Payne, Pres, of Pea¬ 
body Normal College, Nashville, 
Tenn. : I think too much cannot be 
said in favor of this list of publica¬ 
tions, destined, I believe, to create a 
correct taste for reading, and to dis¬ 
place much that is now working in¬ 
jury to the mental and moral habits 
of the young. 

J. H. Vincent, Svpt. of Instruction, 
Chautauqua Assembly : I desire to 
express my great satisfaction with 
the taste, skill, and wisdom of the 
work. I wish it abundant success. 

Mellen Chamberlain, Librarian, 
Boston Public Library : These pub¬ 
lications seem to me to be of great 
value, whether regarded as home 
reading or for use in public school. 

H. 0. Wheeler, Supt. of Schools, 


Burlington, Vt. : These books forn 
an admirable series for reading ii 
the home as well as in the school. 

F. Louis Soldan, Prin. of Normal 
School, St. Louis, Mo. : The idea un¬ 
derlying these books is meritorious 
in itself, and its execution admirable. 

W. M. Crow, Supt. of Schools, Gal¬ 
veston, Tex. : Permit me to say that I 
regard your series of Classics for Chil¬ 
dren as the best literature in the best 
form that has ever been presented to 
the young people of our country. 

B. B. Snow, Supt. of Schools, Au¬ 
burn, N. Y. : As to results, I venture 
to say, from our experience, that no 
one who undertakes the method [of 
dispensing with regular “ readers ”] 
will willingly abandon it. Our read¬ 
ing exercise is the most interesting 
exercise of the day. The pupils look 
forward to it eagerly, the interest is 
absorbing, and the exercise is reluc¬ 
tantly discontinued. I may add that 
the teachers are as much interested 
as the pupils. 


Hcizen ’s Complete Speller 

Editions and Prices. — Part I., Primary: 12mo. Boards. 54 pages. 
Introduction, 10 cents; allowed for old book, 3 cents. Parts II. and III., 
Intermediate and Grammar, and Test Speller: 12mo. Boards. 148 
pages. Introduction, 20 cents; allowed for old book, 6 cents. Complete 
(Parts I., II., and III.): 12mo. Boards. 194 pages. Introduction, 25 
cents; allowed for old book, 8 cents. 

JN this book spelling is taught on a rational plan, by the aid 
of intelligence as well as memory. It has many features of 
special merit that practical teachers have been prompt to recognize. 

W. T. Harris, formerly Supt. of Schools, St. Louis : It gives evidence of 
long experience on the part of the author in the matter of teaching spelling. 



































































































































































































































OF CONGRESS M j 


library 


^ A FIRST READER 
A THIRD READER 


o 029 244 788 7j 


A SECOND READER 
A FOURTH READER 


Bes! - in idea and Plan 

Best in Master and Make . 

Besl" in Inheres^ and Result's 


s* flf 


THIRTY V0LiiiYlES READY. ? r o\ 


SEND FOR DESCRIPTIVE CIRCULARS. 




GINN & COMPANY, Publishers 


Choice Literature. Full Notes, Large Type, G&od Paper; i 
Firm Binding, and Low Prices 


BOSTON. NEW YORK. CHICAGO. 










